


One Day Out West

by ZorroRojo



Series: One Day Out West [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1, The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-18
Updated: 2013-03-18
Packaged: 2017-12-05 17:35:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 130,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/725987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZorroRojo/pseuds/ZorroRojo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover  - I suck at summaries.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a really old story - circa 2004ish.

"Unscheduled gate activation!" the controller on duty shouted above the blaring klaxons as the wormhole formed.

Immediately, a squad of marines took up position around the gateroom. 

"It's Thor, sir," the controller stated unnecessarily as the small alien stepped through the wormhole and the still closed Iris.

"General Hammond," Thor greeted.

"Thor, it's been awhile, what can we do for you?"

"Yes General, it has. But this time, I am not here seeking assistance. The Asgard have made a discovery that concerns your planet."

Colonel Jack O'Neill chose that moment to arrive in the control room. "Thor, old buddy," he called out. 

"O'Neill. General Hammond. If we could speak in a less public place. Perhaps my ship. I must show you something."

Before the General had finished nodding, Thor, O'Neill and Hammond were transported to a large cargo bay.

"This way," Thor motioned as he headed deep into the cargo bay.

"What is this?" Jack asked.

"This is difficult to explain. The Asgard authorities have apprehended a criminal. A collector."

"A Collector?" Hammond asked.

"A rogue Asgard."

"You have those?" Jack asked.

"Yes, few, but they cause grave damage."

The three walked down the cargo bay, between what could only be called exhibits. Each was encased in a glowing forcefield and held all manner of beings neither Jack nor Hammond recognized. 

"Each one of these exhibits is a stasis chamber and within each are beings kidnapped from around the galaxy. Over 2000 were confiscated."

"2000?" Jack asked.

"Please don't tell me there is an exhibit of humans here."

"I'm sorry general, but there is. It's just a little further. It was one of the collector's favorite pieces."

"Pieces?" 

"Yes O'Neill. He referred to them as his art."

"Sick."

"What do you propose to do with them, Thor?"

"We are returning most of the beings to their home planets."

"I sense a but coming on," Jack said.

"The collector has been collecting for centuries."

"How old is his human exhibit?" General Hammond asked.

"You may see for yourself in a moment. Thor stopped in front of a dark exhibit and pressed a few buttons on his console. "They are here."

Jack was the first to react, letting out a low whistle as he examined the men within the force field.

"Are they alive?" Hammond asked.

"Yes. They are in stasis. If they were removed from stasis, it would be, to them, as if no time passed."

"What do you propose to do with them?" Hammond asked.

"That was my question for you. They can be painlessly terminated, once the stasis field is removed."

"Kill them, you mean?" Jack wanted to know.

"Yes, O'Neill."

"Would they regain consciousness?" Hammond asked.

"They are conscious now, only frozen in time." Thor explained.

"Can they see us?"

"No, O'Neill. Time stopped for them the nanosecond the field was erected."

"What are you doing with the other exhibits?"

"They are being handled on an individual basis. Due to our relationship, I wanted to deliver this one to you and let you make the decision."

"We can't kill them, sir."

"But what are we going to do with them?"

"I guess bring them to the base. It's secure against... cowboys?"

"I have the coordinates and dates they were abducted from, if you would like them?"

"We'll take all of the information you have. You said there are over 2000 of these exhibits?"

"Yes general. You have four hours to ready yourselves to accept them. I cannot leave the stasis field in your possession and I must continue my mission."

"Understood, Thor."

"I hope this does not damage relations between us, O'Neill."

"You could have terminated them without us ever knowing about them."

"But they are sentient beings kidnapped by an Asgard. The choice was yours, not ours."

"But did we make the right one?" General Hammond asked softly.


	2. 2

*****

 

Frozen in time. The exhibit was now in the largest cargo bay. It covered half an acre and was filled with life frozen in time. Trees, plants, birds, insects, horses and men. Nine men, to be exact. Spread out over the area and engaged in a gun battle.

The collector only took those about to die, Thor had said. 

There were three groups. One, seeking cover behind a stand of small trees, was a group of two and both had been shot, badly from the looks of it. One even looked dead already. They faced the other two groups, one of three and one of four. The group of four held a badly wounded man as well. He might have been dead already, too.

This group of four were fanned out behind cover, pointing their weapons at a group that hadn't been taken by the Asgard. Or at least that's what Daniel thought as he looked at their positions. Jack would probably know as soon as he looked at them. 

The last group was a group of three and they were behind the better cover of some boulders, but they were firing at a position behind them. The men looked trapped and were probably making a last stand.

Dr. Daniel Jackson moved closer to the forcefield, closer to the group of four trying to find cover for their exposed bodies. All but one.

One man, dressed in black from head to toe, brandishing six shooters, wearing a silver rig and spurs on his boots, this man used his body to shield a man on the ground.

The one on the ground was a ghastly grey color - a color human skin only took on when there wasn't much blood left in the body. His eyes were open, staring into the eyes of the man shielding him, their arms clasped at the forearm.

A bullet, frozen in the air, was two feet from completing it's course - ominously pointing straight at the man in black's head. Before they could lower the stasis field, they'd have to do something about that bullet. And they'd need to have the infirmary ready for casualties. Daniel couldn't wait to talk to these men, Living history, albeit recent history, not usually something that interested Daniel, and granted these men could never be allowed to roam loose, their story never officially told. But Daniel would get to talk to them.

Daniel moved closer to the other group, the group of three. One of them, a very young man, had just been struck by a bullet, it looked like a graze, not a full hit, the blood suspended in air in a textbook splatter pattern. His face frozen in a grimace, he was still firing his weapon. The other two were an odd pair, one older and grey haired, a smile on his face, the other, younger and a black man. Daniel couldn't wait to get all of their stories.

The cargo bay doors opening took Daniel's attention away from the men frozen in time and he jogged to meet up with General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Doctor Fraiser.

"Daniel? Learn anything?" Jack asked.

"Not yet, no. We won't learn anything concrete until they're out of stasis. Three of them are badly wounded, maybe dead."

"So, are they the guys in white hats or black?"

"One's wearing a sheriff's badge, if that helps, sir," Major Carter called out from where she was examining the group of three. "Though he looks a little young to be a sheriff."

"Wonder how many times he's heard that," Daniel muttered loud enough for the others to hear.

"People, we have three hours to come up with a plan to safely remove them from stasis and contain them. Any ideas?"

"I think first we should deal with this," Daniel led the group to the bullet suspended in midair.

"And all the hardware," Jack added. "Maybe Thor can help."

"General," Doctor Fraiser said, "If we can remove the guns and ammunition and flood the cargo bay with gas, it will knock them out and we can move them. I'd like to take a closer look at the wounded first though."

"Go ahead, Doctor," Hammond nodded.

As Janet made her way through the groups of three men, Jack, Hammond and Daniel studied the two men locked in a tight clasp. Their faces, frozen in time, were hard to look at for the men studying them. The one on the ground pleaded silently for something from the man over him.

"Kind of chokes you up," Hammond said after a few moments.

"He's going to take a bullet for him." Jack said quietly.

"It looks like he's saying 'go'," Daniel added.

"He wouldn't have left him." Jack said.

"General," Fraiser called. "I can't be sure, but these two look dead."

"What about the others?" Hammond asked.

"The one with the mustache has a minor leg wound, the sheriff has just been grazed, but the others look fine. This young man," Janet gestured to the one lying on the ground, "is going to be critical. He needs the infirmary but there's no reason the others can't be held in a holding cell until I can examine them more thoroughly."

"Good, the shock of what's happened to them is not going to be easy for them and I'd like to keep them away from anything but each other for awhile."

"What are we going to do with them, general?" 

"Son, I have no idea. Colonel, please contact Thor about the weapons and hardware. Doctor, prepare your teams."


	3. 3

*****

 

When Jack arrived in the infirmary, he found Daniel sitting next to the only occupied bed, reading a book. Jack studied the man in the bed for a few moments before pulling over a chair and sitting down next to Daniel.

"He looks like a regular guy," Jack finally said, softly. "A little dirty, but still, a regular guy."

"People don't change much in a century. At least not on the outside." Daniel carefully marked his page in his book and set it down on the bedside table. He turned to Jack and studied him for a moment. "Remember waking up and thinking a century had passed?"

"Yeah," Jack answered, not committing himself further.

"Imagine if it had been real. At least we had some sort of base for what we were seeing, and it wasn't even real, Jack. These men won't even have a reference point for most of what they see."

"Do you think we did the wrong thing?"

"We couldn't just let Thor terminate them."

"I guess not. I'm thinking maybe we reacted instead of thinking. You know, thinking about what this would mean to them."

A monitor beeping brought the medical team from across the room and brought an abrupt halt to the conversation.

"Daniel, Colonel," Dr. Fraiser said, "We need a little space." She didn't wait for their acknowledgment before calling out to her staff, "Get an intubation kit, stat!"

Jack and Daniel backed off. They'd seen too many intubations, had too many themselves to want to see another.

Jack put his arm around Daniel's shoulders and led him out. "Let's go check on the rest of our guests," he said softly.

Jack led them to the observation room where they could watch the guests. The men were being held in a large suite that had been quickly stripped of all its contents and three bunks added. Daniel had been the one to suggest removing all but the bunks - anything that would indicate their change in time or overwhelm them.

Each man was in a bunk, the two wounded and the largest man in the bottom bunks and the other three on the top bunks. All were still unconscious and two medical teams were examining and treating the two wounded.

The room was wired with sound and cameras, but only one way. Jack and Daniel watched as the medical teams finished, then met them in the corridor.

"When will they wake up?" Jack asked the lead doctor.

"I'm not certain, sir. It could be hours or minutes."

"How are they?" Daniel asked.

"Minor wounds on both of them. We stitched up the older one, his wound was a little more severe, but the sheriff only needed the wound cleaned and a bandage applied. We gave them antibiotics, but they'll need more, later."

"Dismissed," Jack told them. "Hungry?" he asked Daniel.

"I could eat, yeah."

"So, what do you think?" Jack asked as he sat at their regular table in the commissary. 

"Well, I can't imagine what it would like to be them. I don't know how they're going to react. What are we going to do with them, long term? We can't just keep them prisoner on the base."

"They're not prisoners, Daniel. They're in protective custody until they don't need to be anymore."

"Somehow, I doubt they're going to see it that way." 

"Think Sam will find anything about them?"

"Well, she has the date and coordinates they were taken from, plus Manetti's team is going through their things. If there was a newspaper where they were from, it's possible there will be some kind of record of their disappearance."

"With that many guys disappearing, there's bound to be some kind of record."

"I can't wait to talk to them!"

"Of course you can't. Let's go back to the infirmary."

"Dr. Fraiser," Jack said as he stepped into the infirmary. "He going to make it?"

"Right now it's touch and go. He was shot in the lower abdomen, some hours before they were taken. His wound was starting to turn septic. Luckily, he hadn't eaten in quite a few days, so the contamination from the perforated intestine wasn't as bad as it could have been. But, he's responding well to the antibiotics. Probably because his body's never been exposed to them before."

"Zapping all those little bugs, huh?" Jack asked.

"Exactly. I found some other wounds on him. He's been beaten badly sometime within the past few days and his wrists are raw - probably from being tied up. He's in good shape physically, considering."

"Considering what?" Daniel asked.

"Come take a look at this," Fraiser motioned for Jack and Daniel to follow her. "This is an MRI we took. We needed to get a look at how extensive the internal damage was. We removed about a foot of his small intestine. But take a closer look, here." Janet pointed to different spots on the patient's body. "Broken femur, broken ribs, collarbone, all the bones in his left hand and a curvature of the spine. Considering the time period he came from, it's a wonder he could walk. Those are the internal scars. Externally, he's been shot, stabbed and whipped. He's had at least one gunshot wound cauterized."

"How old is he?" Daniel asked, studying the MRI.

"I can only guess, but I'd say somewhere between twenty-five and thirty."

"Hard life," Jack said.

Daniel moved to the patient's bedside and studied him for a moment before turning and asking, "Don't you think this is going to be a little overwhelming when he regains consciousness?"

"Of course, Daniel. But he needs the medical support. Right now, he's on life support, but he's showing signs of breathing on his own again."

"When do you think he'll regain consciousness?"

"Soon, probably. He's been a little restless - which is why he's restrained. We can't really sedate him. His blood pressure's too low."

"His heart rate is only 50?" Jack asked. "What? I can read this stuff!"

"Yeah, that big blinking 50 on the heart monitor is pretty straightforward."

"His heart rate is normal for a young man in the physical condition he's in. His blood pressure is dangerously low, though. He lost a lot of blood and I don't want to transfuse him too quickly. I don't have any experience with time travelers. I have no idea if there are any pathogens in our blood supply that won't agree with him. It would be best to use blood from his companions, but until they're conscious and can consent, I can't ethically type them or take blood from them."

"He'll be all right until then?"

"I don't know. He's lucky to have made it this far."

"Well, from what you've said, he's quite a fighter."

"That he is," Janet said softly.

"Can I sit with him?" Daniel asked.

"I don't see why not. If he starts waking up, talk to him."

Daniel picked up his book from the table he'd left it on earlier. He glanced up and noticed Jack still standing there staring at the patient. "You staying?" Daniel asked him.

"Nah. I'm going to go check on the rest of them. Let me know if he wakes up."

"You're as interested in them as I am!" Daniel said, as if he just realized Jack had been the one leading them around all morning.

"Of course I am. What man wouldn't be interested in real cowboys. Didn't you play cowboys and indians when you were a kid?"

"Uh, no."

"Well you missed out then," Jack called over his shoulder as he left the infirmary.


	4. 4

*****

 

Chris Larabee regained consciousness slowly. He first became aware of his surroundings as a soft snore floated up from somewhere below him. Normally one to come instantly awake, he roused through a sluggish fog. He cracked open his eyes, just enough to let a little light in, but not enough for anyone watching him to know they were open. The first thing he noticed was the lighting. It wasn't right. Not right at all.

He decided to do a little assessment before allowing anyone who may be watching him to realize he was awake. As he took stock of his body, feeling oddly disconnected from it, his mind went back to his last memory. The gunfight. The Williams gang robbed the bank and took Vin. It took the rest of the peacekeepers three days to find them and fight their way to Vin.

Only, Vin had been shot - gutshot. They were too late. Chris held back a shudder. The last thing he remembered was being surrounded by at least fifteen men. He, Buck, Ezra and Vin were caught in the open without cover and Vin wasn't going anywhere without being carried.

And Chris wasn't leaving him. Josiah, JD and Nathan were pinned behind some boulders and surrounded. Chris held Vin's arm, clasped at the forearm, begging him to hang on just a little longer. For what, Chris didn't know. Vin was a dead man. He had one leg and the other foot in the grave - but he wasn't giving in just yet. Not when the rest of them were still in danger.

Chris squeezed his eyes shut tight. He wouldn't think about that. Whatever happened, he was now in a quiet room with light that wasn't quite right and there were people breathing around him. He recognized Josiah's snore from somewhere below him and off to his side, somewhere close, Ezra's soft breathing.

Chris squinted through one eye without moving his head. He instantly met Ezra's one open eye. Chris gave a subtle nod and Ezra nodded back. Looked like he wasn't the only one awake. Unless Josiah was playing possum too, he was still out. Sleeping, not unconscious if the snores meant anything. Ezra's eye shifted down and sort of behind him and Chris shifted his gaze to where Ezra indicated.

Under Ezra, JD lay on his back, mouth open but not snoring. Beyond JD, there was Buck. Buck was awake too, it seemed. Above Buck, Nathan had his back to the rest of them. He was facing a wall and couldn't move, even if he was awake, without alerting anyone watching.

Chris took his time assessing the situation. Five accounted for and one unaccounted for. Counting himself, six men were in the room. Strange lighting, metal walls, metal bunks with the most comfortable mattress Chris had ever lain on. He wore his own clothes but his boots and rig were gone. His body still felt strange. Dizzy, but not. His limbs tingled a little and he risked moving. 

He pretended to sleep, rolling over as one would if still sound asleep. After a few moments of controlling his breathing, he cracked his eye open again, careful in case someone else was with them. He wouldn't think about Vin just yet. Finding out where they were and who was holding them - that's what was important right now. He would grieve later - or never. He couldn't imagine a life without Vin, didn't want to.

Now the walls, that was odd. It was like they were in a steel box. Thoughts of the prison at Jericho and the box baking in the sun flashed through Chris' thoughts and he almost flinched. But the room was cool, not hot and there was no way six men and three bunks would fit in a hotbox. Besides, the walls were too smooth. Maybe not metal, then.

He inched his fingers out from under the blanket and waggled one to get Ezra's attention. He pointed at the only door he could see, then further back. Hopefully, Ezra would get the message and pass it along. The moment someone came through that door, they would take them down. Even unarmed, in tight quarters, he and his men stood a chance. They had to get out of this boxed in room. Didn't matter what was on the other side of that door, anything was better than being confined in this tiny space. They would come up with a new plan once they were outside.

Chris fought the allure of drifting off back to sleep. His body felt like it was weighed down by rocks and he hoped he could actually move when the time came. He and Josiah were the closest to the doors with the others lined up behind them. A slight shift of the bunk, then a tap and Chris knew Josiah had joined them. JD and Nathan were still out, or at least Chris didn't notice a change in their breathing. He hoped the kid stayed out. Of all of them, he was the least likely to play possum. Now Vin, he was the best at it. He could even still fool Chris, even after a year of sharing the same bed. Don't think about Vin! Not now.

Chris didn't know how much time passed, he was busy trying to get the lay of the room straight in his still fuzzy mind. The only door he saw was in front of him and the rest of his men were behind him. It was going to be up to him and Josiah to grab the first people through the door and then the rest of them would have to come forward and bust through any other resistance. Chris flexed his muscles, one group at a time. He hoped his legs would hold him when it was time, but he wasn't too sure.

Voices echoing and Chris tensed. Someone was coming. A key in the lock and he tensed some more. The first one through the door was a small woman wearing some sort of white smock and Chris waited. She wouldn't be a problem. He fought against himself to hold still and waited as two men came through the door. Their clothing strange, Chris immediately saw the guns strapped to their sides. He tensed to move but before he could, Josiah was jumping up and grabbing for the man closest to him. Chris launched himself from his bunk and landed on the second man.

He was on the floor in a tangle of limbs when Ezra came flying across the top bunk and jumped to the floor next to him. Josiah wrestled with his man and Ezra jumped in to help. Chris managed to get his hands on the gun, yanking it from the holster while he smashed the guard's head into the floor with his other hand. He stumbled to his feet and took aim at the guard. The man charged him and Chris pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. The guard was on him, knocking him to the floor and the gun out of his hand, It skittered under the bunk and toward the still sleeping JD. Nathan was off his bunk and going for the gun. Chris wrestled his man, wrenching his shoulder behind him and planting his face into the floor. 

In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of Buck holding the woman but his attention was on Ezra, who also managed to get his hands on a weapon. It didn't look like he could fire his either. 

The sounds were all jumbled together and Chris was suddenly dizzy. The man he was holding onto almost wrenched himself free, but Josiah was on him.

"You got him?" Chris nearly shouted as he stumbled to his feet, heading for the door. 

Just as Chris reached the door, a shot rang out and he spun, ready to tackle anyone with a weapon. Wouldn't do any good if he got out and left the rest of his men staring down a gun barrel. A scream and the man Ezra had been holding the weapon on was on the ground writhing in pain and holding onto his foot. Chris nodded at Ezra and made for the door again. 

"Chris?" Nathan called out and Chris spun in time to see the other weapon sail through the air toward him.

"How the hell did you make it work?" Chris shouted.

"I have no idea. I fumbled along under the barrel and then it discharged. I am not familiar with this type of firearm."

Chris nodded to Ezra and held the gun out in front of him, motioning for Nathan to join him while Buck, Ezra and Josiah were occupied with prisoners.


	5. 5

*****

 

"Yes, sir," Jack replaced the phone in its cradle and let out a sigh.

"Is something wrong, O'Neill?"

"Have a seat, Teal'c."

"So we are canceling our mission to PX-347?"

"Looks like we're on stand-down and cowboy duty for the duration."

"Surely there must be other teams more suited for this assignment."

"Daniel asked for it and I agreed."

Teal'c arched a brow at Jack but didn't say anything else. That eyebrow always said enough and Jack knew Teal'c knew it.

"Look," Jack said, "it's part of the culture. We're all fascinated with the old west and cowboys. You know, a time when men were men. No rules, living rough, drinking, fighting... all that manly stuff. It's cool. We've got real live cowboys right there." Jack pointed at the computer monitor and Teal'c moved closer. "Sam's trying to get some background on them."

"They do not look very interesting at this time."

"They're still out from the gas."

"I do not believe they are."

Jack watched for a moment, zeroing in on the one on the top bunk closest to the door. He leaned a little closer to the monitor and watched as the man in black subtly made contact with some of his men. "Good eye," Jack said as he stood.

"I would feign unconsciousness if I were in their situation as well. It is the correct strategy until a threat can be assessed."

Jack turned to leave and looked back at Teal'c. "Well, let's go see them, then." Teal'c sat watching the monitor and Jack stopped at the door. "Coming?"

"It seems the medical team is paying them a visit."

In the blink of an eye, five of the men were locked in battle with the SF's and had their weapons. Within seconds, one of the SF's was down - looked like he was shot. Jack raced out the door without waiting for Teal'c, slapping an emergency alarm as soon as he stepped into the hallway. He took off for the guest quarters at a dead sprint, the eardrum piercing klaxons shattering the normal quiet of the base. 

It only took him moments to reach the room, his access card granting him entrance. He snagged a weapon from the SF leading the team approaching from the opposite direction and motioned for Teal'c to follow him. "Cover me," he yelled. "Don't hurt them!"

Jack slowly stepped into the tight space, holding his gun at the ready, his heart racing. Dammit, they didn't need a gun battle here! As soon as he stepped into the room, Jack lowered his gun. All 5 men were on the ground, hands covering their heads and ears. Jack grabbed the gun from where it fell to the floor next to the man in black, Teal'c scooped the injured guard over his shoulder, and Fraiser and the other SF beat a hasty retreat, the SF holding the other weapon. 

Jack waited for all of his people to clear the room before glancing back and stepping through the door. "Someone turn off that alarm," he yelled over the noise. Within seconds, the normal quiet was restored. "Doc?"

"It doesn't look too bad."

"What the hell happened?"

"I needed to get a look at the wounded and all signs indicated they were still unconscious. I brought a security team. They should still have been sluggish from the gas, if not unconscious."

"Well they weren't," Jack snapped back. "Sorry," he said after a minute. He pointed to the injured man, "You got him?"

"I will assist him to the infirmary, O'Neill," Teal'c said, slinging the injured man's arm over his shoulder.

"I'll come with. You," Jack said, pointing at an SF standing in the corridor, "Guard this door. No one in without coming through me first. Let's give them a little time to settle down and we'll try again."

Jack led the group to the infirmary, immediately seeking out Daniel once Fraiser had her people started treating the injured marine. All of the infirmary beds lay empty causing Jack to wonder if the patient was still alive.

"What happened?" Daniel asked, peeking his head through the door.

"Misunderstanding. Where's the cowboy?"

"We moved him to an isolation room after you left. Janet thinks it would be better if he didn't come to in here."

"He coming to?"

"Yeah. You want to come in there with me? The alarms brought him pretty much out of the anesthesia."

"Nothing I can do here and his friends need some time to settle. Might as well," Jack shrugged and followed Daniel.

"I heard from Sam a few minutes ago."

"Yeah?" Jack asked.

"The one here's name is Vin Tanner. She was pretty excited about a paper trail she found. She should have full dossiers on them all within a few hours. She'll find us when she has a presentation. Get this," Daniel spun just outside the door to face Jack.

"What?"

"He's wanted dead or alive for murder."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Sam found a wanted poster in the two dead guys' things. It's him all right."

"That makes things interesting."

"You coming in, Jack? I want to be there when he wakes up. He's going to be freaked."

Jack nodded, then shrugged. "I'll be there in a minute. I'll set up a guard, first."

"Jack, he's half dead."

"Trust me, even half dead, these guys are dangerous, all of them."

Daniel shook his head and slipped into the isolation room, leaving Jack in the hallway in search of a guard detail. Five minutes later, Jack followed Daniel into the room and leaned against the wall, watching Daniel. He nodded toward Jack without looking away from the patient, leaning over him, talking to him softly.

Jack watched for a few minutes as Tanner slowly climbed into consciousness, thrashing his secured arms and legs, stronger by the minute.

"Relax," Daniel told him softly. "You've been badly hurt and you need to be still. No one's going to hurt you." Daniel whispered to him for a few minutes and Jack moved closer, still leaning against the wall, to get a better look.

"He awake?" Jack asked after a few minutes of quiet from Daniel and Tanner.

"He's in and out. Each time, he's closer to being fully conscious."

"They leaving the tube in?"

Daniel looked to the nurse on duty, sitting in the corner of the room, behind a desk. "Ask her."

"Nah - they don't like to be questioned about this stuff. Think we're telling them how to do their jobs."

"You're the same way."

"No I'm not."

"Jack."

"Daniel."

More thrashing from the patient distracted them from their playful taunting. Jack let Daniel take the lead, staying back against the wall where he was more comfortable.

His eyes open a fraction, Tanner let out a long low moan and moved his head side to side. 

"Careful, don't move too much," Daniel told him. "You've been shot. If you move too much, you'll start hurting again. My name's Daniel."

Tanner started tugging on the restraints and tossing his head faster. Daniel gripped his head in his hands, careful of all the medical equipment. 

"Shhh," Daniel told him. "I know this is overwhelming but if you're still it won't hurt so much. The tube in your throat is there so you can breathe. Try to relax."

Even Daniel's soft reassurance wasn't helping, the heart monitor jumping from 52 to 90 in a matter of seconds. The nurse hurried over, checking the breathing tube and the monitors before going back to the desk and picking up the phone.

Tanner wasn't in a mood to cooperate if the fierce struggle against the restraints was any indication. His eyes were wide open and round. Jack knew panic when he saw it and he stepped closer to Daniel's side.

"Nurse," Daniel called out. "Can you sedate him?"

"I'm checking," she called back.

"Daniel, maybe you should back off," Jack said softly.

"Jack, he's scared."

"I can see that Daniel, but I don't know if you're helping."

"We can't just leave him like this."

"I know, but I don't see how we're helping things any."

"I don't want him to think he's alone." Daniel reached for Tanner's hand, clasping it in his own. Tanner jerked his hand away from Daniel's, fisting it in the sheet. He turned his head and closed his eyes, the heart monitor screaming over 100.

Jack backed off a couple of steps, standing just behind him as Daniel tried to calm the panicking patient. 

"Okay, I won't touch you any more," Daniel told him softly. 

Jack put his hand on Daniel's shoulder and told him softly, "I know you want to help Daniel. I know it's killing you to think about what he's thinking and feeling, but maybe we should just give him a little time and space."

They both studied Tanner, who'd gone still and stiff, still clutching the sheet in his fist. 

Daniel backed off a step, standing even with Jack and turned his head to look at him, his face scrunched in anguish. "You know when you were a kid and really scared. If you shut your eyes real tight and pretended if you couldn't see whatever was out there, it couldn't see you?"

"Yeah," Jack said quietly. He bumped Daniel's hip with his own and said, "not just kids do it."

The door banged open and Fraiser hurried in, followed by more members of the medical team. "He's awake?" she asked the nurse.

"He regained consciousness a few moments ago and is panicked. Heart rate's up, blood pressure dropping."

"It's not safe to sedate him." She turned to Daniel and Jack, "Have you tried talking to him?"

"It's not doing any good, doc," Jack answered. He's shutting us out. Want us to go?"

"Daniel? Will you stay? I think one or two people is more than enough for now."

"Of course," Daniel said.

"I'm going to go check on the rest of them. Maybe they've calmed down by now."

"Colonel?" Fraiser called out just as he was about to step through the door. "If you can bring one of them here, it might help to calm him.

"I'll see." Jack said as he stepped out into the corridor. What a mess. Helping these guys was not going to be easy.


	6. 6

*****

 

When the door opened and more men rushed into the cell, Chris saw them and wanted to react, he just couldn't get his body to cooperate. That god-awful noise was like to split his head in half. Where the hell were they? In and out of the room too fast for Chris to react, Chris could do nothing about them. The clanging stopped and Chris slowly raised his head.

Buck was on the other side of the bunk Chris was pressed against, guarding the still sleeping JD with his body, his hands still over his own ears. Chris slowly stood and watched as Nathan and Ezra regained their senses. Josiah and Buck were still crouched low, but looking up and taking stock of the situation.

No one said anything for a few moments, if Chris had to guess, they were all embarrassed by the reactions to the noise... he knew he was.

"What the sam hell was that?" Buck shouted, jumping to his feet.

Chris took a minute to answer, looking at all of his men, trying to gage if any of them had a theory. "Any ideas?" he asked them. No one answered and he asked, "What's the last thing anyone remembers?"

"We liberated Mr. Tanner from the Williams gang and were making a stand. Mr Wilmington was struck in the leg by a bullet and Mr. Tanner was also incapacitated. I can't recall anything after that."

Nathan, leaning over JD, added, "JD was hit too, looks like. His arm is bandaged."

"Buck, you Okay?" Chris asked.

"I forgot I was shot. Don't seem to hurt none, but what the hell kind of pants am I wearin?"

Chris looked at Buck, really looked at him for the first time and noticed the light blue funny pants he was wearing. "Anyone else?"

Josiah finally came to his feet and looked around. "I have a vague impression of a cavernous room with all manner of strange things, after the gunfight. One moment we were surrounded, the next moment, we were in a strange cave, the next, I woke up here."

Chris checked Nathan again, this time, watched him check JD before asking, "He Okay, Nate? Besides the bandage on his arm? Why is he still out?"

"Don't look to be hurt none. I think we were drugged. I'm still feelin slow."

"Anyone else?" Chris asked.

"I'm feeling rather peaked as well, Mr. Larabee."

"My leg should hurt like a son of a bitch, Chris, but it don't hardly hurt none." Buck sat on the closest bunk and pulled a blanket over his hips, then pulled down the strange drawers. "Them's the neatest stitches I ever seen." Buck lifted his leg in Nathan's direction, inviting him to come take a look.

"I never seen anything like that," Nathan said after examining the wound.

"Kid gonna be all right?" Buck asked.

"He's breathing good and his heart's strong. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's sleeping. But no way any person could sleep through that noise."

"Which takes us back to where the hell are we," Chris said softly.

He looked around the room again, acutely aware of the missing man.

Chris watched as each man checked the room. He couldn't come close to understanding what the hell was going on, but he had to keep his head and find a way out. With something to concentrate on, he wouldn't think so hard on where Vin was. The other wounded were treated and with the rest. Vin was mortally wounded. Hours must have passed, if the drugged feeling was any indication. They could have been out for days and they wouldn't know it.

"Does anyone have a guess as to what's happening, here?" Chris asked again.

"Nothing a sane man would be thinking, brother," Josiah said softly.

"The workmanship on these bunks is like nothing I've ever seen... and I've been in the finest establishments in this country. And the walls - what are they constructed from?"

"I have no idea, Ezra, I'm still trying to place those guns."

"Yes, the weapons. I'm at a loss to explain any of this, Mr. Larabee."

Moaning from JD and the men gathered around him, waiting for him to wake up. There wasn't much else to do. Nathan and Buck sat with him, Buck grabbing his hand as JD tried to get his bearings. "Easy there, kid," Buck told him. "Take it slow. I think we've all been drugged."

Each man occupied a separate section of the room, reclining against the walls and bunks, waiting for someone to suggest something. Chris alternated between watching his men and examining all the details he could of their prison. Next time, they'd be ready for that noise. It wouldn't send them scurrying for cover like frightened animals. But it was such a foreign sound, so utterly unexpected Chris couldn't fault his men, or himself, for being shocked into inaction by it. But next time, they'd be ready.

Buck helped JD to his feet and even though the kid swayed a little he was finally with them. He flexed his arm a few times and turned puzzled eyes to the bandage, fingering it until Nathan pulled his hand away. 

"Where are we? What happened? What kind of pants are you wearing, Buck? Where's Vin?"

Buck shook his head at JD, but it was too late. The elephant in the corner had been mentioned.

"We've only just woken ourselves, Mr Dunne and do not have answers to any of your questions."

Chris turned and walked away from the rest of the group. He faced the door, tried to find any weakness in it, but it was solid metal. He lay his hand against it. feeling the cool metal and wondered just how the hell they ended up here, where ever here might be. "Anyone else notice how strange the light is in this place?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Buck said from just behind him. "Chris, we don't know Vin's dead."

Buck's hand on his shoulder made Chris jump and he spun back to face the others. He glared at Buck before telling them all, "See if you can find any weakness in this place, any way out. I don't like being trapped like animals without even a window."

Chris did his part, checking the area by the door. He turned around after fruitlessly running his hands over the solid walls, concluding they weren't actually metal, but some sort of stone. He watched JD climb onto the bunk in the far corner, first running his hands over the strange lamps, then waving his arm around in the air.

"Find anything, JD?"

"Fresh air," JD told him without looking at him. He stood on the top bunk and swayed a little as his feet sunk into the soft mattress. "Feels like it's coming out of that window with the little bars. I think that leads to outside." JD ran his hand over the tiny window with the tinier bars on it, then flopped to sit on the bunk. "I don't think even I could fit out that window."

"Could you see anything?" Chris asked.

"Nope, couldn't see through those little bars. It looked pretty dark though. Maybe it's nighttime. Smelled funny too - like some kind of lamp oil or kerosene maybe." The uncertainty on his face plain to see, JD looked to Chris for reassurance - something Chris couldn't give to himself, let alone anyone else.

Before Chris could ask any of the others what they found, a bolt turned in the door and a small window two thirds of the way up the door slid open. Chris nodded to the rest, not watching as they took up defensive positions around the room. Chris stepped up to the door, off to the right a ways and waited.

"Hello in there," a voice called out.

Chris didn't answer, shook his head to let the others know not to answer and waited another moment. When nothing further was said, Chris decided to play along - sort of.

"Whatever you want from us, mister, you aren't going to get it."

A man peered through the small space and Chris stepped closer to block his view into the rest of the room.

"Look," the man said, his voice soft and tone conciliatory. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, here."

Whatever the guy was saying about feet, it was obvious he wanted to parlay - and if it meant getting out and tracking down the men that killed Vin, Chris was willing to go along. "You don't look like part of the Williams gang. Let us out and we'll be on our way and we'll forget you held us prisoner. You responsible for doctoring my men?"

"There's been a misunderstanding," the man said. 

"Holding men prisoner doesn't happen by accident or misunderstanding. We're the law around these parts, just in case you're new around here."

"I'm Jack O'Neill and none of us here are responsible for what happened to you. We... uhm... we found you and we're trying to help you. You're in there for your own protection and after what you did to my men, for *our* protection too, until we come to some sort of understanding."

"What I understand, mister, is that you're holding us against our will and that's kidnapping. You'll get 25 years hard labor in Yuma for that."

"Look, I don't want to argue with you right now. You'll understand once you know more. I'm here to take you to your friend."

Chris narrowed his gaze and studied the man. Chris wasn't about to fall into a trap and go along peaceably by a promise to see a man already dead. "Vin's dead," Chris said sharply. A gasp behind him out of JD and Chris hoped Buck would shush the kid. 

"Vin isn't dead, but he's badly hurt and he needs one of you right now. If you don't trust my word and don't want to come with me to see him, one of your friends might."

"You got us looked up in here and you're talking to me about trust," Chris said, smiling a little at the irony. Vin always told him he looked far more dangerous when he smiled than when he glared and judging by the stranger's reaction, Vin was right on target with his observation.

"Look," Jack said, backing off from the door a fraction, "maybe trust is the wrong word. How about I send one of my men in there to sit with your friends until you come back?"

"Unarmed?" Chris asked, considering.

"Sure, unarmed, just like you'll be."

Chris turned around and was met with five nods. A glimmer of hope that Vin might actually be alive snuck past Chris' defenses before he turned back to the door and gave a nod of his own.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," Jack said, then slammed the window closed and locked.


	7. 7

*****

 

"Rodriguez," Jack shouted to an SF walking down the corridor with some other men. "You have anywhere to be for the next hour or so?" Rodriguez was one of the men he'd enlisted to get Fraiser and the marines out of the holding cell, but more importantly, he was on the small side and he didn't have an aggressive demeanor typical of many of the marines.

"No sir. I'm off duty in 15 minutes, Colonel."

"You've just pulled some extended duty. Grab some cokes, some water, some food from the mess, including coffee, and be back here in ten minutes."

"Sir?"

"You're going to sit with our visitors while I bring one of them to the infirmary."

"As a hostage?"

"Nope." Jack said, not offering any more information. Jack started towards his office but spun around to catch the quick moving marine. "Rodriguez, don't give them any information."

The marine nodded to him and hurried off to complete his orders in the alloted timeframe while Jack thought about what he had in his office to occupy the men without leaving Rodriguez with nothing to do but sit in there and stare at them. 

Mission accomplished, Jack was back at the guest quarters within ten minutes. Rodriguez was there waiting for him, some food trays stacked on the floor outside the door. "Leave your weapon with the guard detail," Jack told him as he bent to pick up some trays.

"Yes, sir."

Jack ignored the note of surprise in the corporal's tone and opened the door with his card. As soon as the door swung open the two largest of the men greeted him, arms crossed and against their chests.

"I brought you food," Jack told them, waiting for them to step aside. When they did, he left his food tray and came back to stand by the door, motioning Rodriguez into the room with them.

"This is Pete and he's going to hang out with you guys while..." Jack looked to the man in black expectantly.

"Larabee. Chris Larabee."

"While Larabee and I go check on your friend. We brought food and drinks and I brought this." Jack pulled a deck of his cards from his pocket and placed it on one of the trays. "The doc said she needs to check on your wounded, so she'll be back later. If you," Jack pointed to the group of five men arrayed around the room, "can hold off on another escape attempt until Chris comes back, he'll fill you in."

A man, better dressed than the others, but still dusty and unkempt stepped forward from the group. "For approximately how long will this dreadful room be our accommodations? I would be most appreciative of a hot bath if we are to be detained for any length of time."

"You want a bath?" Jack asked, surprised by the request.

"While some of my associates consider bathing once a week, and in some cases once a month, to be more than sufficient, I prefer to bathe on a daily basis. We've been on the trail for almost a week and the dust covering I've accumulated is quite distressing."

Jack stared at the long-winded man with the southern accent for a moment, then turned to Chris. "He always talk like that?" 

Larabee just nodded and headed toward the door. 

"I'll see what I can do," Jack told the southerner before moving to follow Larabee. Jack unlocked the door and swept out his arm, encouraging Larabee into the corridor. He shut and locked the door behind them and turned to Larabee, motioning for him to stop.

He looked like a hard man, long and lean, all dressed in black. Somewhere around forty, if Jack had to make a guess and someone not to be taken lightly. Also, someone not to panic easily. Or trust easily, either.

"I have to tell you something," Jack started. "I want you to listen for a minute, you don't have to believe me, but listen and watch and make up your own mind."

Larabee didn't give an inch, just nodded his head and stared him down. Jack knew he wasn't a diplomat, knew Daniel would be better suited for this job, but Larabee had an air about him that said he wasn't one for niceties. He'd probably eat Daniel alive, and Daniel wasn't a light weight. 

"You and your men were... uhm... you were out of it for a long time. Look, this is going to sound crazy - it would sound crazy to me if I was in your shoes but... hell, I guess there isn't any way to make this easier. The year is 2003."

That got a reaction. "What year?" Larabee asked, his eyes narrowing and his hand going to his belt - right where his weapon would be.

"The year right now," Jack told him.

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing, O'Neill," Larabee growled, stepping into Jack's personal space.

"It's not a game. It's the truth. Look, say a guy from the 1700's somehow... uh... well... fell asleep and didn't wake up until your time. He wouldn't recognize a lot of stuff. Stuff like your guns or maybe trains. Right?"

Larabee nodded and Jack tried to figure out what to say next. "Like I said, you don't have to believe me. Just look around and make up your own mind, all right?"

"Take me to Vin." Larabee said, clipping his words and staring expectantly at Jack.

"Right. We're going to a place called an infirmary and..."

"I know what an infirmary is," Larabee interrupted. "Just take me there."

"All right then. Follow me." Jack led them down the corridor, Larabee a step or so behind him and each time Jack glanced toward him, he saw Chris taking in every detail. He would be able to find his way back to his other men, and he kept his cool, even when he saw things Jack knew he didn't recognize. He was the kind of man Jack could respect, could relate to on a lot of different levels. The walk was short and Jack was grateful for it. Even a man with ice water in his veins would have a hard time dealing with what Larabee had to be thinking right now.

Jack stopped in front of the corridor entrance to the isolation room, opening the door and motioning Larabee to follow him into the decon room that separated isolation from the main corridor. "You're going to see some strange things in there. It might look like we're hurting your man, but everything that's being done to him is to keep him alive. Just remember that one thing, okay?"

Larabee nodded and Jack opened the door into isolation. Daniel was still sitting at the patient's bedside, not reading his book, but talking softly to the young man. The ventilator was still breathing for him, but it only breathed for him a couple of times in the span Jack stood watching. Looked like he was ready to start breathing on his own, if Jack's experience with ventilators was accurate. Good. Jack turned to talk to Larabee, catching sight of him back near the door.

His head slowly turned from one end of the room to the other, taking in every single piece of equipment and all of the people, staring Daniel down hard when he rose to meet them.

Daniel stuck out his hand and offered, "Daniel Jackson. I've been sitting with Vin until one of you comes. He's a little agitated and not communicating with us. I can't blame him for being afraid. I hope you can help."

Larabee stared at Daniel with the look of a predator about to go in for the kill and ignored Daniel's outstretched hand and introduction. He catalogued Daniel so coldly that Jack almost stepped between them. Jack hadn't forgotten that this man had pulled the trigger without hesitation when the SF threatened him and his men. If the safety hadn't been on, there would have been a dead marine that morning. "Daniel," Jack said softly, "This is Chris Larabee. He seems to be in charge."

Larabee ignored Daniel, all of his focus on the man in the bed. "What are you doing to him?" Chris demanded to know.

Daniel, either choosing not to be intimidated or more likely, refusing to acknowledge Larabee's hostility, motioned toward the bed and said softly, "Let's let him know you're here and then I'll find a doctor or nurse to explain everything, Okay?"

Larabee nodded and moved slowly toward the bed, staring at the medical equipment, then to his friend, then back to the equipment.

"He's awake, he can hear you," Daniel said. "I think he's overwhelmed, so he's shutting everything and everyone out."

Jack followed Larabee, distant enough to give him space, but close enough to intervene if he went after Daniel. 

Larabee leaned over the bed rail and said softly, "Vin?"

A few more breaths from the ventilator and Larabee repeated, "Vin?" a little louder this time. 

Another minute before Tanner opened his eyes and Jack let out the breath he'd been holding. He watched as Tanner's expression ran the gamut from fear to hope to recognition to true relaxation for the first time since opening his eyes. Larabee reached down and laid his hand over Tanner's and Tanner's fist finally uncurled from its tight grip on the sheet.

"Jesus, Vin, I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I?" Larabee asked softly, his tone so different from anything Jack had heard from him so far that Jack almost couldn't believe the transformation. Larabee's grip on Tanner's hand slid into the forearm clasp the two had been locked in for 100 odd years and Larabee's entire body shuddered and relaxed, holding onto his friend for dear life.

Tanner's eyes drifted closed and his heart rate slowed, falling asleep almost the instant he realized his friend was there. Larabee turned, not loosening his grip on Tanner's arm, motioning with his head for Jack to approach.

With Daniel right behind him, Jack moved closer to the bed, careful not to get too close.

"Is he in pain?" 

Jack wasn't going to lie, not to this man, not to anyone who had a loved one hurt as bad as Tanner. "Doc says he's going to live, but he's not too good at the moment."

"Is he in pain?" Larabee ground out through clenched jaws.

Daniel stepped closer and Larabee blocked Tanner with his body.

"He's probably in some, but he's getting medicine to help with it," Daniel said, keeping his voice low and his tone as casual as he could. 

"Does that thing in his mouth have to stay?"

"It's breathing for him right now," Daniel said, still keeping his tone soft. "He's been getting stronger every minute. Hopefully it won't have to stay much longer, but that's up to the doctor."

Larabee looked up from studying his friend's face and examined each piece of medical equipment, cataloguing it all, right down to following each line to where it disappeared under the covers.

"It looks bad," Jack said, "but considering how bad he was hurt, he's doing great, according to Doc Fraiser."

"She the one in the white coat from earlier?" Larabee asked without looking up.

Jack nodded without thinking then cleared his throat and said, "yup."

Larabee looked away from Vin and at the two men, studying them for a minute. "He was about to die, last thing I remember. A man doesn't live through being gut shot like Vin was."

"There have been a lot of medical advances over the years," Daniel said. He pointed to the walls and Larabee followed his finger to where the lights to read the x-rays were set up. "We can see inside people now, see where they're hurt and how badly they're hurt. We also have medicine that will stop an infection that would have killed someone in your time."

"We haven't really gone over the whole time thing just yet," Jack said, waving his hand when he said 'time thing.'

"You haven't told him?" Daniel asked, arching a brow.

"Of course I told him, Daniel. I just told him he didn't need to believe me. I thought Chris here would make up his own mind once he saw a few things." Jack turned back to Chris. "You believe me, yet?"

Larabee didn't answer, instead sitting hard in the chair that Daniel had been sitting in.

"You ready to go back?" Jack asked. "You must be tired and hungry and we've got to find somewhere for you guys to stay. Somewhere a little bigger and with a bathroom."

"I'm not leaving."

The door from the main infirmary opened before Jack could answer and Fraiser hurried in.

"Sorry, I've been in surgery repairing the damage to Airman Cole's foot. My staff said he's," she motioned to Vin, "been agitated." Fraiser reached out to touch Vin and Larabee grabbed her hand before she could reach him.

"I appreciate what you've done for him, ma'am, but he doesn't need to be touched right now."

Fraiser stared at her hand, where Larabee had her by the wrist, and then back up into Larabee's eyes. "I need to examine him," she finally said.

"He just fell asleep. The second you touch him, he's going to wake up again - I don't think he needs to be doing that."

Fraiser looked to Jack and he nodded subtly before saying, "How about first you introduce yourself then you explain to Chris just what you've done for his friend, then tell him what you need to do now?"

"I'm Doctor Janet Fraiser," she said, shaking her hand free, then extending it.

Chris took her hand and shook it, offering, "Chris Larabee."

"When your friend was brought in, it was touch and go for awhile. We operated on him to repair the internal damage. The wound was through and through so there was no bullet to extract. He's covered in bruises from being beaten and he's lost a lot of blood. We've given him medicine to fight the infection, but he's still a very sick man."

"He going to live?" Chris asked softly, turning back to Vin and reaching for his hand again.

"He has a very good chance at a full recovery, given time."

"What's all this stuff?"

"He has a breathing tube in because he was too tired to breathe on his own for awhile, but in the time since I've come in, it has only had to support his breathing a couple of times. Once I examine him, it can probably come out."

"And the other things?"

"This," Janet said, pointing to the IV bag, "is delivering medicine directly into his blood. He's also receiving blood to replace what's he's lost, but I would like to take some blood from all of you to see if any of you match him. I need to examine all of you, actually, but that can wait a little longer."

Chris didn't respond for a few minutes and the silence began to grow uncomfortable. Jack cleared his throat, then asked, "Is there anything else you want to know before the doc examines him?"

Chris' head shot up, and he stared at Jack for a moment, deciding, then shook his head. Jack couldn't blame Larabee for his protectiveness, he'd be the same way if it was Daniel under a stranger's care, fighting for his life, far from home. Jack nodded to Fraiser and she moved around the bed, checking equipment and readouts before pulling on a pair of gloves and approaching the bed from the opposite side Larabee guarded.

The second she pulled down the sheet and raised the gown, before she even touched him, Tanner was shirking from her touch and fighting the restraints. Larabee hadn't exaggerated Tanner's reaction. Larabee was ready, though, and had ahold of Tanner's hand and was leaning close to his ear, whispering, before Tanner could get too worked up.

Janet gently removed the bandage and palpated the area around the wound, avoiding the neat double row of staples extending across Tanner's abdomen, just above his pelvis. Larabee watched her hands, not flinching when the ghastly wound and staples were exposed. He alternated meeting Tanner's eyes and watching the Doctor. 

Each time Tanner flinched, Larabee gripped his hand tighter, giving him something to hold onto against the pain. His body covered in a fine sheen of sweat, Tanner trembled and tried to move away from the prying hands. His eyes squeezed tightly shut, only the lifeline Larabee offered him kept him from a full blown panic.

Finally, Fraiser finished examining his wound and covered him, Tanner visibly relaxing as soon as she backed off. 

"Well?" Larabee asked when she kept her back to the rest of them, studying some readouts.

She turned around to face them, meeting Jack's eyes before shifting to meet Larabee's gaze and answering. "He's breathing well on his own, has been for the past hour or so, so I'd like to try to remove the tube. It may have to go back in if he doesn't bring enough oxygen into his lungs on his own."

Larabee squeezed Tanner's hand before asking, "If he might not breathe without it, why chance taking it out?"

"Because the longer it stays, the weaker his own lungs get. If he can breathe on his own, it needs to come out. Besides, it's very uncomfortable for him. Conscious patients aren't usually on a ventilator."

"He can handle it." Larabee said sharply. "If it's keeping him alive until he's stronger, it should stay."

Larabee was sharp, Jack had to give him that. As soon as he understood what the breathing tube meant, he questioned the need to remove it, even if it hurt. Sharp, but kind of cold. Cold may be a little strong, Jack amended, as he watched Larabee soothe Tanner with a touch. Pragmatic might be a better explanation for his behavior. 

Jack searched for Daniel, spotting him against the wall and moved over to join him. "What do you think?" he whispered.

"I don't think he's going to leave this room without a fight. It might be better to let him stay here for awhile. Should I go and update the rest of them?"

"Rodriguez is in with them, see if they'll let him leave without Larabee being there, or maybe if things get tense you can offer to take his place. First though, I want you to look into finding them better quarters. Something a little bigger and with a bathroom. If they end up being here long term, we'll have to find something better, but for now, how about guest suite four?"

"You trust me in there with them? Or trust them with me, rather?" Daniel smiled, a little smugly and Jack cuffed him on the head.

"As long as you don't threaten them and Larabee and Tanner are out of their sight and at risk, they won't do anything."

"You're confident about that?"

"After watching him," Jack motioned to Larabee, who was engrossed in conversation with Fraiser, "yeah, I am. As long as they're not threatened, they won't do anything."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then. Maybe Sam will have something more about them by dinner."

Jack nodded to Daniel and turned back to watch Fraiser, Tanner and Larabee. A nurse had joined them and Larabee had moved to stand by Tanner's head, gripping his shoulders while Fraiser and the nurse worked on getting him free of the ventilator.

 

*****


	8. 8

*****

 

Chris leaned forward, elbows on his knees and watched Vin twitch restlessly in his sleep. His face, no longer hidden by that horrible tube thing, was pinched and pale where it wasn't swollen and bruised. But he was alive. Vin was closer to panic than Chris had ever seen him, even looking down the barrel of a gun... even more panicked than with a noose around his neck. Chris knew he was walking a line, too, between panic and disbelief, didn't know what to make of the tall tales that Jack fellow had been telling.

But the man had a point - all Chris had to do was look around at the amazing things just in this one room - and he almost believed it could be true. He searched his mind for some other explanation, but he wasn't a man of imagination and he knew it. Vin could come up with some fanciful things, surprisingly, and maybe Ezra and Buck could too. He'd wait for them to think up some other explanations. For now, Chris was going to accept that they'd all become like the character in a book he'd read when he was boy and that they'd slept for over a century. Only unlike that Winkle guy, they hadn't aged. 

Vin started twitching again and Chris reached for his hand, pulling it out from under the blanket and grasping it between his own two hands. "Easy," Chris said softly and Vin quieted. It humbled Chris to see Vin react to him this way - convinced him it was more important he be in this room than with the other men. No matter what the real story was, it didn't seem like they were in any sort of immediate danger. Well, any of them but Vin.

Chris tried not to get caught up staring at all the machines but whenever he caught one out of the corner of his eye, his attention went to it and then he sat, mesmerized, watching the lights and listening to the beeping. Not a dream... couldn't be a dream... he didn't have the imagination to dream up things such as this. 

He felt naked without his gun, or even and he felt a little silly thinking about it, his hat. But he was whole - could fight back if needs be and Vin couldn't. Chris knew he'd be in a sight more panic than Vin was, if their positions were reversed. Didn't think he could take being strapped to that bed while people did things to him he had no control over. Didn't think he'd be able to keep his mind after having that tube down his throat, his arms and legs trussed to a bed, and all those other tubes and such all over and in him. Even in a place no man should have to worry about someone sticking a tube into him.

His heart ached for Vin, the pain maybe worse than if it were him in that bed... he wasn't accomplishing anything, sitting here trying to decide who had it worse off. He didn't want to think about anything further ahead than the next five minutes so he sat, content with watching Vin and helping him get his bearings whenever he'd startle awake.

A pretty young woman had come and stuck a needle in the crook of Chris' arm a few minutes before, explaining the doctor wanted to check his blood. Chris worried the bandage some, amazed at how easily and efficiently she took his blood. That needle thing didn't hardly hurt any and she didn't take all that much of it, but still, to see his blood in a little container was strange, to say the least.

The doctor lady said something about giving Vin some of his blood, if it matched... Chris let that thought go for a minute... and concentrated on watching Vin breathe soft and easy. He had a piece of some sort of strange material strapped over his index finger that was supposed to tell the doctors how well he was breathing. Didn't make any sense, but none of this did.

Colonel O'Neill brought him coffee, before he left for some duty or another. Chris had known right from the start that the people holding them were some kind of organized force, but he never would have figured them for the army. O'Neill didn't act like any kind of Colonel Chris ever met before, but he'd only met a few during the war. Once he moved out west, he hadn't met anyone with higher rank than captain. But O'Neill was the man could get things done so Chris was through dealing with anyone else.

And that Daniel Jackson person, sitting by Vin, thinking he had some kind of right to tell Chris what he should do. And the doctor, just expecting him to listen to her and nod whenever she expected something or wanted to do something to Vin. Vin couldn't make a choice right now, so Chris took that responsibility - expected Vin to do the same for him if it ever came up. Maybe these military types were used to people just doing whatever they said, but one reason Chris pulled up stakes and moved west all those years before was because he trusted his own judgment above all others and out west a man was expected to think and do for himself... he'd be dead, otherwise.

Vin started a cycle of twitching again and didn't stop when Chris laid hands on him. Must be waking up, maybe he'd stay awake long enough for a conversation, this time. Sooner Vin was able to move, the sooner they could plan their escape. Until Vin could travel, they were all stuck here. Needed to get all of them in the same room, too... or close enough and without all those armed men between them. And women, Chris amended, looking up and catching sight of that doctor again. She was inside that room made of glass, looking in, and Chris pointedly turned back to Vin, ignoring her. Wasn't that he wasn't grateful to her for saving Vin's life, but what was the price going to be?

Vin let out a harsher breath than he'd done before and Chris turned his full attention to him. He tugged his hand, trying to free it and Chris squeezed it, saying, "Easy, Vin."

Another thirty seconds or so and Vin's eyes opened, this time more than instinctive recognition of Chris shining through. Damn, he really was going to be Okay, if the intelligent gaze examining his surroundings was an indication. Chris watched as he scanned the room, watched as his eyes narrowed and he shook his head, just a little, shaking off whatever he'd been thinking.

"We make it to hell?" Vin asked, his voice raspy and cracking on every syllable.

Chris blinked, remembering their promise to ride to hell together and he chuckled a little, relieved Vin had all his faculties. "If this is hell, it isn't any hell I'd imagined. They got food, water and damn comfortable beds here. Coffee's worse than the crap Buck makes, though."

"Hell, then," Vin sighed. 

"I can't believe you're laying there half dead, making a wise ass remark. Doctor said not to let you talk too much, just yet."

"Throat's a mite scratchy. You gonna let me in on the mystery?"

"You remember anything?"

Vin shuddered and Chris looked away. 

"Nightmare. Strange people, strange place, then you." Vin cleared his throat, a harsh painful sound and Chris remembered the cup the nurse left him.

"Here," Chris said, spooning out some ice with the funny spoon and holding it up for Vin to see. "Want some?"

"Let me loose and I'll do it myself," Vin said, his eyes narrowing as he tugged on the restraints again. "I done had enough being tied up by the Williams gang, don't need you trussing me up, too. I ain't goin nowhere, just yet."

"You aren't tied up to keep you in that bed, pard." Chris said softly.

"Don't care why, Chris, just let me loose now or I'll find some way to do it myself."

Chris sighed and reminded himself Vin was being pretty cooperative and calm, considering. "Vin," he said, getting Vin's attention off the restraints and back on Chris' face. "I'll let you loose, but you can't touch any of that stuff."

Vin shifted in the bed and winced as something or another pulled on him. Could be that hole in his gut, or maybe the exit wound in his back. Might even be the tube in his dick that made him wince so hard. He was starting to break out in a sweat, maybe ready to fight and Chris reached out a hand again, placing it on the middle of Vin's chest, holding him still with no effort at all. 

"Vin, by all right's you should be dead. This stuff, it's what kept you alive and I'd like you to stay that way, so how about you make me a promise and I'll let you loose."

Vin's eyes narrowed and he looked away, but gave a short, tight nod, getting pissed, but relenting. Chris put the cup down on the funny tray and stood, leaning over Vin and releasing him from the soft bandages that held him to the bed rails. 

Chris sat back down and watched as Vin rubbed at his sore wrists, bandaged over the rope burns. Vin examined the room, face not betraying anything, his eyes coming to rest on the cup Chris had set down.

"You gonna give me that?" Vin managed to get out, the words catching in his sore throat.

"Here," Chris said, handing over the cup.

Vin took the cup and studied it for a beat, turning it in his hands and getting the feel of the foreign material. He lifted a piece of ice with his fingers and popped it into his mouth. He closed his eyes and sucked on the ice, sighing a little in relief. When he opened his eyes again, he looked inside the cup, then to Chris and asked "Where'd you get ice in the middle of summer?"

Chris shook his head. "Don't worry about that right now, I'll explain what I know later. How are you feeling?"

They locked eyes for a long minute and Vin sighed. "Sorry, Chris, I ain't going anywhere for a spell. Can't hardly move without feeling like I'm bein knifed in the belly. The others get away?"

Chris shook his head and watched as Vin studied his surroundings some more and munched on ice. The hand holding the cup shook and Chris took it away. "They're here too, in another room," Chris told him. Vin tugged on the tubing going into his arm and Chris reached out and gripped his hand, getting him to look him in the eye again. "Aren't you curious?"

"Yeah, but figure I can't change anything. Just gonna see what happens, not much choice, right now. Got you to watch m'back," Vin mumbled, then tried to stifle a huge yawn. 

"You know it," Chris said softly. "If you're tired, go back to sleep, Vin. I'm not going anywhere."

"Don't seem like you're the one in charge 'round these parts, cowboy," Vin said, closing his eyes.

Chris watched as Vin fell asleep, again. Sleep was the best thing for him, Chris knew from being shot himself. Chris watched the machine things for awhile but began to grow restless. He needed more information, but he'd been leaning towards believing O'Neill. Didn't think it was possible, for them to be 125 years in the future, but it did make a kind of strange sense, if he just looked at the evidence. Didn't think about it too hard.

A few minutes of quiet thinking didn't do Chris any good, just got him going in circles again. He realized he'd been working towards acceptance of O'Neill's word when it hit him that all the people they knew were now long gone. Him and Vin, it wouldn't affect them too much, the ones they cared about most were all here, but what about JD and Casey - they'd been married for six months now and Casey was expecting. And Raine? She moved to town six months before- she and Nathan had only been married a month. And Maude? For Ezra's complaints of his mother, she did visit him with surprising regularity. 

Inez finally stopped running from Buck. The past spring, she told him if he really wanted her, he'd have to settle down and prove it. And Buck met the challenge. Three months of courting only Inez and she'd agreed to marry him. Now that was one even Ezra didn't bet on and it was a good thing, too. He'd have lost his shirt. And Inez was learning how to cope with being the object of Buck's full time affections.

Who would care for Josiah's sister? Chris caught himself... there was no would... that was the past, not the future. If he'd been told the truth, Vin was absolutely right. There wasn't a damn thing that could be done about any of it. And maybe, that's what set Chris on edge the most.

The past year brought changes to Chris' life he hadn't expected. Town was growing, more respectable people moving in. Railroad built a spur close enough to town to make things move even faster. The peacekeepers switched off duties weeks at a time and JD even won election in the first Sheriff's election, appointing Buck as his deputy, of all things. 

Chris wondered what happened to his and Vin's land, to their horses. They'd worked hard together, turned his little shack into a home - their home. That was all gone now, if O'Neill was telling the truth. 

A nurse, the same one who took his blood, slipping into the room drew Chris' attention from watching Vin sleep. It seemed they were in and out altogether too much, checking this, doing that. Chris sat silently watching her, ready to interfere if she came to prod Vin again. Didn't seem right, not letting a body rest.

"Sir?"

Chris didn't answer her, just watched her cross the room. 

"I need to check a few things, make sure he's progressing as he should be."

"You were here an hour ago."

"He needs constant monitoring, still," she told him, waiting for his permission to approach. "If you won't let us near him, I'm afraid the doctor will order you removed. I don't think you want that." She tried to sound compassionate, like she didn't want to see that either. He believed her.

Chris considered for a minute - and if this constant monitoring is what it took to make sure Vin stayed alive, well, that's what it took. He'd already lost everything else, he wasn't going to take the chance of losing Vin. He nodded to her and she approached, pulling some sort of wooden tablet from the end of Vin's bed and moving toward the monitors. He watched, actually curious about what she was doing this time.

"I'm keeping a record of all of his vital signs," she told him when she caught him watching her. "It's why we're here so often. We need to know if anything starts to go wrong and we need to catch it fast enough to do something about it."

Almost afraid to ask, Chris asked anyway. "What could go wrong?"

"Infection, mostly. But he's still short on blood, too. The doctor will be back soon and I'm sure she'll tell you more, sir."

"Does he have a fever?"

"Yes, but it's to be expected for the next forty-eight hours. If it doesn't go too high, it won't hurt him. It will mean his body is healing itself." She replaced the tablet in its slot and moved around to Chris' side of the bed. "He's doing very well. Try not to worry too much."

Her compassion inexplicably angered him, but he reined it in. He didn't address her again and when she left the room, he went back to studying Vin. He felt his eyelids drooping, thought about pacing to stay awake, but before he got to his feet, he nodded off. In the twilight between sleep and not asleep, he listened to the monitors, listened for the door opening. 

Someone tapping him on the shoulder had him on his feet and reaching for his gun, realizing too late that it wasn't there. His hands came up to defend himself but he recognized O'Neill before he struck the man.

Jack, hands up, said, "Whoa there, just me."

Chris scrubbed at his face with his hands and sat back down. 

"Tired?"

"I'm fine." 

"Hungry?" O'Neill asked. When Chris didn't answer, Jack said, "I brought food. Just some sandwiches, but it'll fill the hole."

Chris took stock of his body, surprised he'd been able to ignore the hunger rumbling though him for so long. Until O'Neill mentioned food, that was. He held out his hand for a sandwich and O'Neill shook his head.

"Unh-uh. I'm not breaking the no eating in the infirmary rule. It's my ass that gets stuck regularly with their needles. C'mon," Jack motioned for Chris to follow as he headed toward the glassed in room. "We can eat in here and you can stay on guard duty. 'Sides, I have something to show you."

Chris, with a check on Vin to make sure he was sleeping soundly, followed O'Neill into the glass room. Maybe he'd get some answers along with the food.

*****


	9. 9

When Larabee stepped into the observation room, Jack motioned to the chair next to him. He sat at the table along the glass wall, just under the glass. They could watch Tanner while they ate and while Jack showed Chris what was going on with the rest of his men.

It took nothing more than visiting the resident computer geeks' lair to get the closed closed circuit feed accessible anywhere on the base. Hell, they managed to make alien technology work, hacking into the cable system was nothing.

Larabee took the seat next to Jack and Jack pushed two wrapped sandwiches to the space between them. "This one's meatball and the other is chicken salad. I like 'em both, so I'll let you pick."

Larabee grabbed the foil wrapped meatball sandwich and examined the wrapping closely.

"That's tin, to keep it hot," Jack said, then set to unwrapping the butcher paper around his own sandwich. Jack would have picked the shiny one, if he was in Chris' shoes, but he hadn't figured Larabee for someone to get distracted by shiny objects. He ducked his head to hide his grin, instinctively knowing Chris would think he was being laughed at, then pushed a bag of potato chips and a can of Coke at Larabee. Jack picked up his own chips, grasped the bag in the right spots and yanked. He dumped his chips onto a napkin he'd already set out and then waited for Larabee to do the same. Once again, Larabee was a fast learner, his chips open and ready to eat with minimal fumbling.

Jack picked up his can of coke and waited until Larabee was watching him, then opened it. Larabee had a little tougher time with the can than he'd had with the chips, but he managed and didn't spill a drop.

"Beer comes in these cans now too," Jack told him. But the best beer still comes in bottles." Jack pushed a stack of napkins at Larabee, grabbing a couple for himself, first, then settled down to eat. He glanced at Chris between bites, but let him eat in silence, the way Larabee seemed to prefer things. 

Larabee drained his coke and popped the last of the chips into his mouth, keeping his eyes on Tanner the entire time he'd been eating. Man was focused, Jack had to give him that. Either focused or needing a lifeline as much as Tanner was. Damn, Jack hadn't thought of that, before. Jack figured he'd let Chris lean on him if and when he wanted to, since Larabee seemed to respond to him with something other than the hostility or suspicion he'd shown everyone else - Jack wasn't sure what it was, really. Not trust. Maybe acceptance due to necessity. Maybe it was his rank, but Jack didn't think so. Or maybe they'd struck some sort of deal Jack hadn't been aware of, earlier. It didn't matter, not really.

Larabee stood, wiping his mouth with a napkin, then tossing it on the table, ready to get back to his friend, but Jack stopped him with a hand in the air. "Wait a sec, I want to show you something."

Larabee didn't sit, just did that staring thing that was starting to make Jack uncomfortable. Jack kicked the chair out and motioned to it, then turned to the monitors. He flipped the power switch then managed to remember how to get the live feed up on the screen. It was tied to his network login so he could keep an eye on them whenever he needed to. The thought 'peeping Tom' flittered around in his head for a second - along with 'security risks' - but Jack got back to the business at hand without too much distraction. Go him.

Once he was sure Larabee was watching over his shoulder, Jack said, "Hmmm, I don't even know where to start on this one."

"Those are my people," Larabee said, eyes narrowing when he turned to look at Jack.

"And that's Daniel," Jack said, pointing to the screen. "You met him already. And he's one of *my* people. He's on my team, specifically. I'm second in command here, so they're all my people, but Daniel, Sam and Teal'C make up my unit. Teal'C went to visit his family but you'll meet Sam soon enough." Larabee went silent again and Jack turned back to the screen. "We moved your men about an hour ago, figured you needed a little more space." Jack turned his head and looked at Larabee, who was watching him instead of the screen. Jack was tempted to say, "what?" but he held it in and let Larabee take his time.

"What are you second in command of?" Larabee finally asked.

"This base. You know we're military already. This is our base and it's a high security installation. It's why none of you will be allowed to wander around unaccompanied or even at all, for now."

Larabee didn't say anything in response and Jack went back to fiddling with things. Luckily, the computer cooperated, not something that always happened when Jack was at the mouse. Give him an onboard computer and a joystick and Jack played it like a concert violinist, but desktops had a way of getting the upper hand. He got the sound loud enough and sat back to watch.

"You plan on spying on us?" Larabee asked, his tone harsh and if Jack turned, he knew he'd be receiving the 'death glare' again. 

He let out a sigh and said simply, "Security precaution."

"Security precaution... riiiight. You're not secure unless you're spying in on the room you got us LOCKED in, huh. Looking more and more like we're prisoners after all." 

"It's not like that," Jack said, shaking his head. "This is all standard procedure."

"And since you're second in command, I'm betting you could change that, *if* you wanted to."

Jack let the silence stretch, not really sure what to say. Usually, the people they held, were in fact, prisoners. It was standard procedure just for that reason. He'd have to adjust his thinking. Have to remind himself periodically that these men weren't enemies or prisoners, but in some sort of strange protective custody - that they weren't going to be very happy about. Jack knew if he forgot again, Larabee would be right there to remind him.

Larabee leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his belly, studying Jack again... pointedly *not* looking at the monitors. Finally, he tilted his head and smiled a little. "I left the army as soon as the war ended. I didn't like following orders. I didn't like other people thinking for me. Still don't."

Fighting with this guy was not what Jack had in mind when he decided to show him his men. He wanted to let Larabee know his men were fine. Good thinking, O'Neill, way to go, he chastised himself. 

"Look, I'll see about getting all but the camera that covers the door removed, all right? That one stays because I'm not going to chance you guys making another break for it. No matter what it may look like right now, you aren't prisoners. You're in protective custody. Whether you're willing to admit it or not, you're out of your element."

Larabee studied him some more, then finally gave a short, tight nod. His habit of not speaking unless absolutely necessary didn't make for comfort.

"Wait a minute... war? As in civil war?" Jack asked, his mind going back to what Larabee said before.

"Too young for the Mexican one, if that's what you're asking."

"Wow," Jack said, "there's a few historians who would love to get their hands on you."

Larabee went quiet again, movement on the screen catching his attention. "You're assuming I believe you about where we are," he said after a moment.

"I haven't told you *where* you are, just when."

"Figure of speech," Larabee shrugged and started watching the screens with interest. 

Jack turned the volume up and leaned back in his chair.

*******

Ezra and JD sat at a round table, sitting next to each other while Daniel sat across from them. Four other chairs sat empty, and Ezra was dealing cards.

"This time, we play for steaks," Ezra said as he dealt hands to Daniel and JD.

Buck watched from across the room, leaning against one of the three bunks. Three of the four walls had bunks against them and two of the walls held doors.

Josiah and Nathan leaned against a bunk just behind the table, watching over Ezra and JD's shoulders.

"I believe you already are down hot baths, fresh clothes, and an explanation as to our current circumstances."

"Don't forget we all get to go see Vin," JD piped up, studying his cards.

"Not likely Mr. Dunne, since that concession was won with the first hand."

"And if I win, you tell me something about each of you," Daniel said.

"Yes, those are the agreed upon stakes, Dr. Jackson."

They played their hand silently, JD folding first, then getting up from his place to wander around the room. He ran his hands over the bunks, studied the lights some, then went to stand next to Buck.

"Shouldn't you be sitting, Buck?" JD asked. "Your leg's got to be hurting."

"I'm fine right here, JD." Buck said, uncrossing, then crossing his arms again. "Where did you say Chris was?"

Daniel looked up and studied Buck, his face open and guileless. "He's with Jack, checking on Vin."

"Been gone a long time," Buck said. "We've been pretty patient, but that ain't gonna last much longer."

"I fold," Daniel said, dropping his cards and turning sideways so he could see all five men. "I've told you what I know. Vin's alive and he looks a lot better. Mr Larabee doesn't want to leave him alone."

Josiah stepped forward and put his foot on the chair next to Daniel, leaning his elbow on his knee. "And that's where you lose us, Doctor. If Vin were all right, they'd both be with us right now. We're left with nothing to do but speculate since we're locked up in this room, comfortable as it may be."

"The situation is... delicate," Daniel said. 

"Enough dancin around," Nathan nearly shouted, "Where are we, who are you and what's going on?"

Ezra held up his hand and leaned forward. "What my associates are trying to impart is that while we are grateful for your hospitality, we are in fact, nothing more than prisoners in a comfortable jail."

"Well," Daniel said, "I was hoping to hold off until Colonel O'Neill and Mr Larabee returned but I'll tell you what Jack told Mr. Larabee."

The five men waited expectantly while Daniel gazed around the room, not meeting their eyes. "Uhm... well... you see... the thing is you're probably not going to believe me."

"Try us," Buck said.

"Well, the year right now is 2003 and we found you and now have to figure out what to do with you."

"You're right," Buck said, "We don't believe you."

Ezra gave a belly laugh and stood up, starting to pace around the room. After a few circuits, he came to a stop in front of Daniel. "Dr, Jackson, the key to running a successful con is believability. A scenario that is patently implausible will never be successful."

"That's why you should believe me," Daniel said, raising his arms and gesturing with his hands. "I wouldn't make up something so farfetched!"

"He's got a point there, Ezra," JD said. "Hey, where's this go?" he asked when the door he was pulling on opened, almost causing him to lose his footing.

"That's the... uhm... restroom," Daniel said, turning back to the rest of the men. "Look, you don't have to believe me, just think about what I've told you and watch what you see. You'll understand that I'm telling you the truth on your own."

"Well, since you refuse to respect us and tell us the truth, how about another hand, this time, for a libation, or ten." Ezra took his seat at the table and inclined his head toward Josiah and Nathan, "Would you care to join us, Mr Jackson? Mr Sanchez? Mr Wilmington?"

Nathan came over to sit at the table, followed by Buck, but Josiah chose to remain in Daniel's personal space, still leaning on the chair.

Ezra began to deal the cards to the men sitting silently.

"AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

"JD!" Buck shouted and tried to jump to his feet. "What the hell you doing, boy!" He limped to the restroom door and was met by a sopping wet JD. "What happened to you?" Buck demanded.

"There were these funny handles on the wall and when I turned 'em, water came out of this funny shaped spigot, only I didn't know it was a spigot!"

"I thought I told you not to touch things that you don't know what they are! Haven't you learned anything?"

"Deputy Wilmington," JD said, standing taller on his toes, "do I have to remind you who's the deputy and who's the sheriff?"

"Yeah, and who's the one who's all wet!" Buck yelled, smacking JD on the head, "Huh?"

"Water?" Ezra asked, raising an eyebrow in Daniel's direction.

"Maybe I should show you guys how to use the ahhh... bathroom," Daniel said as he got to his feet.

All six of them squeezed into the small bathroom and out of sight of the cameras.

*****

 

Well that was entertaining," Jack said, turning to look at Larabee, who'd nodded off at some point. Remembering Larabee's reaction to being shaken awake, Jack called "Chris," until Larabee startled awake. "You want to go get some shut-eye?" Jack asked him.

Chris stood and stretched, then looked to where Vin was still soundly sleeping. Larabee shook his head and started back toward his friend's side. Jack followed him back into the isolation room, standing back while Larabee settled.

"I'm going to give Daniel a hand. I'll bring you your things when I come back."

Larabee didn't respond until Jack was almost to the door. "I need to go outside," Chris said, just loud enough for Jack to hear him.

"Uhm... that's not possible right now," Jack said.

"Fine, Ill just piss in a corner somewhere, then."

Jack almost slapped himself in the head. The guy'd been awake for hours now and no one thought to show him to a bathroom. And of course, he didn't know what indoor plumbing was. "Follow me," Jack said, then led him to the main infirmary. 

Jack brought him to the bathroom located in the infirmary and said, "I think you can figure out how it works on your own. I'll just wait out here." He caught Fraiser's eye from across the room and ambled over to where she sat behind a computer.

"What's up?" Jack asked.

"Larabee's a universal donor, so he can give blood to his friend, if he agrees."

"He will."

"I'd like him to shower if he's going to sit with Mr Tanner again. Tanner's in for quite a fight and I'd like him exposed to as few organisms as possible."

"I'll explain it to Larabee," Jack said. "I'll give him some of my clothes to wear for now. I don't think he's going to like the pajamas you keep here."

"How's he handling things?"

"About as well as can be expected, I guess. I'm not really getting a read on the guy. All I know is he's prickly."

"Prickly?"

"As a porcupine."

Jack saw Larabee emerge from the bathroom and waved him over. 

"I need to get back to Vin."

"Just a sec, the doc needs to tell you a few things."

Jack didn't listen as Fraiser explained about germs and blood and contamination to Larabee, he'd drifted off into his own thoughts as soon as she started lecturing about cleanliness and microscopic bugs. 

What the hell had Daniel been thinking, playing cards for supplies? And how'd he manage to lose every hand? He'd probably done it on purpose, trying to give the men a little control. Jack wouldn't have thought about handling it that way, but it seemed to work. Only now Jack was going to have to come up with six steak dinners. And whatever else Daniel managed to lose between now and the time Jack would be able to get in there.

Fraiser's voice rose and Jack paid attention to her and Larabee - Larabee was a rock, arms crossed and no expression on his face. Jack moved closer in time to hear what Fraiser's problem was.

"It will only take ten minutes."

"I've been gone long enough."

"I can't let you in with my patient until you shower."

"I was already there."

"But that was an emergency situation - getting him to calm down was the priority then."

"And if he wakes up without me there, he'll panic again."

Fraiser didn't have an answer to that and Larabee looked to Jack, ready to go.

Jack shrugged at Fraiser and led Larabee back to the isolation room.

"You noticed the indoor plumbing, right?" Jack asked without looking sideways at Larabee. He didn't get an answer, finally saying, "Well you don't have to carry and heat water for a bath anymore. Water comes out hot and showering only takes a few minutes. The Doc's kind of particular when it comes to clean and her patients. This one time, Daniel got stuck in a sinkhole and she didn't even set his leg until she hosed him off."

"I'm not the patient."

"Nope, neither was I that time and she wouldn't even let me in the room till I stripped down."

"You people have peculiar ways of doing things."

Jack didn't know what to say to that, so he just shrugged, the one useful for all occasions, and gestured for Larabee to go in the room ahead of him.

"Okay, I'll be going now...." When Larabee ignored him, Jack headed to the door. Once outside, he turned to the guard and said, "Don't let him leave. If he needs something, page me. If he gives the doc or nurses a hard time about something, don't interfere, page me."

Jack didn't wait for an answer, he wanted to get to Daniel and the others before Daniel lost anything else.


	10. 10

*****  
Chris settled into the chair and studied Vin for a minute, trying to figure out if he was playing possum or if he was actually still out. Even busted up like he was, it wasn't like Vin to sleep so much. Maybe he wasn't really all right and these people were lying to him. He couldn't make up his mind what the truth was. One hour, he leaned toward liking Jack and halfway to believing him, the next, he thought the guy was running some kind of con on him.

But the proof of part of their sincerity was laying right in front of him, living and breathing. Vin's hair was a mess and someone tied it off so it wasn't all over the place. It was lank and stringy and really needed a good wash. He was filthy all over, actually, the only clean space on him was his belly where that metal was in his skin. His back was probably clean where they stitched him up there, too. Damn, that doctor had him doing it too, thinking about how dirty he and Vin were. It wasn't hard to notice just how out of place they were in the spotless, white and grey room with the gleaming metal machines sparkling in the bright lamplight. 

Later, he'd take O'Neill up on his offer of a bath. As soon as Vin was awake more than ten minutes at a time and would understand that Chris would be back. Hell, Vin usually sent him away when he was laid up. Just wanted to be left with food, water and his own self. Chris wasn't quite so stoic when it came to being sick. Maybe his mother and Sarah had spoiled him... Sarah always told him he was like a baby when he was sick. Not Vin though. He didn't even let anyone know he was hurting unless he couldn't live without doctoring.

Made Chris ache to think of just how much doctoring Vin needed from these strangers, when he wouldn't hardly accept help from Chris or any of the others. Soon as Vin could move, he'd make sure Vin was in the same room as everyone else, away from prying eyes and probing hands.

Vin still hadn't moved, so Chris was sure he was still out. He would have let Chris know he was awake as soon as he figured out they were alone. Chris toed off his dirty boots and leaned back, resting his feet on the metal at the bottom of Vin's bed. His hat would come in handy about now, he needed something to block that too-bright light if he was going to get any shut eye. 

The hot spray was like nothing Chris had ever felt before. It soothed his muscles from head to toe as it rinsed away the grime and grit of the trail. He couldn't begin to imagine the machine behind the wall that kept the hot water coming, and he didn't really try too hard. He just wanted to finish up and get back to Vin, as good as this shower thing felt. When he couldn't sleep, he'd decided getting the trail dust off actually sounded like a good idea.

Finished washing, he stepped out of the shower stall and onto the soft mat, startled at how luxuriant it felt, even between his toes. Everywhere he turned, he was seeing and feeling things that told him that wherever-- or whenever-- they were, it wasn't The New Mexico Territory as he knew it. If he wasn't so damned worried about Vin, he'd be a lot more curious, he knew. He had no idea what was going to happen to them, and he had no intention of letting his guard down and just accepting everything these people told him, but he understood himself well enough to know that with Vin healthy and right beside him, he'd be wanting to know more about how all this strange stuff worked.

Toweled off and dressed to the waist, Chris set about giving himself a shave. He'd been thrown when Jack had told him he could have a razor, but when Jack showed him this funny little disposable thing, it made sense. No way would these people hand him a weapon like a straight razor. This odd little thing, though? Chris couldn't make a weapon out of it if his life depended on it-- and he hoped to hell it didn't. That thought spurred him on a bit, and finished dressing quickly, anxious to get right back to Vin's bedside.

******

Chris wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there with Vin, keeping one hand on Vin's and another on his filthy forehead, just watching, anxious for him to wake up again. Between the lack of sleep and the over-relaxation of that shower, Chris felt himself getting more noticably weary.

That same woman who'd taken his blood came back, pretty much on schedule, this time with a big metal pan of some kind, which she put on that wheeled table on the other side of Vin's bed.

"He really needs to be bathed," the woman started to say.

"You're not doing it," Chris said, matter-of-fact as he could.

The woman sighed softly, but surprised Chris with a small smile. "I kind of thought you'd say that. It's obvious that he trusts you, and the last thing we need is for him to get agitated again, so you're welcome to do it yourself. But it does need to be done."

Chris nodded, and let go of Vin's hand so he could get a closer look at the pan the woman brought. She opened a door on the table and pulled out a towel, washcloth, and some kind of loofa. "You'll probably go through a lot of these washcloths," she said, dampening the loofa thing and pouring some kind of thick liquid that soon began to create suds. "The most important thing now is to get his hands washed. The more awake he is, the more likely he'll start fingering the IV's and his wound, so it's important his hands be as clean as possible. Beyond that, getting the worst of the dirt from his face, arms, chest and thighs would be good."

Chris nodded absently, bending a little to see just how many more of those washcloths were in that table cabinet. "Mr. Larabee," the woman said, a wariness in her voice that had Chris facing her immediately. "You'll want to be very careful maneuvering around his genitals. You don't want to do anything to disrupt the catheter."

"Catheter?" Chris repeated, only then realizing what she meant.

"Yes, the tube in his penis," she explained anyway, though Chris was sure the heat in his cheeks made it obvious he'd figured it out. "It'll probably come out tomorrow when he's awake and lucid more, but for the time being, it needs to be left alone."

"Right," Chris muttered, nodding and turning back to Vin. Wasn't right for a woman to be talking about a man's parts, nurse or no.

The woman retreated quietly, and Chris was left alone again to get down to business. He gave a quiet snort at that thought, wondering how many people were spying on them now, through that peep-hole contraption Jack had showed him earlier.

Didn't take Chris long to figure out that if he got Vin's hands washed without dunking the loofa back into the pan of water, he could use the washcloths to get him rinsed and washed everywhere else without getting the water too dirty, too soon. 

Under any other circumstance, Chris would revel in the chance to care for Vin in this way. Wasn't often someone like Chris got to do gentle, caring things, like washing the face and hands of someone who meant everything to him. But knowing people were watching them, like they were an act in some carnival, made him edgy and resentful that this moment wasn't given the privacy it deserved. Nonetheless, he gave Vin the attention he deserved, and whispered to him quietly, though he barely stirred through the whole thing.

When that woman came back for the pan and cloths, Chris asked for more water and another one of those disposable shaving kits Jack had given him. He'd been expecting an argument, and so when she smiled and readily agreed, he was a little surprised. Chris sighed to himself then, actually perturbed that she didn't argue. He didn't like it that he still couldn't predict anything about these people.

He took his time giving Vin his shave, still not used to handling that little razor. Wasn't much of a weapon, but he didn't want Vin nicked anyway.

Chris was just giving Vin's now-smooth cheeks another rinse with the washcloth when Vin's eyes fluttered open. He yawned and then grinned, triggering an automatic grin from Chris in return. "How're ya feeling?"

"A little beat up, but could be worse," Vin answered, then rubbed his face curiously. His smile grew lazily mischievous. "You found your calling, Larabee. Damn nice shave you give."

Chris snorted softly, shaking his head. "You don't sound very grateful, pard."

"Mmm. I'd be more grateful if you could come up with some more of that ice, cowboy," Vin answered with another small yawn.

"Sure, Vin. Hold on a minute. I'm sure there's someone sneaking a look, or listening to us, and they'll fetch us some ice," Chris said, and straightened up.

"Chris," Vin said, grabbing Chris' hand before he could walk away. "I was only fooling. Do these folks really got more ice here?"

The confusion that scrunched Vin's cleanly shaved face made him look so damned young. Chris wondered what the hell he was thinking, making Vin look even more vulnerable to these people.

"Yeah, Vin, they really have more ice, here. Hang on, we'll have some here soon."

Chris went to the door he'd seen Jack come in and out of, and tested the handle. Sure enough, it was locked. A few fists later, though, it opened, revealing a burly man in a set of clothes like Jack's. "In case the people watching us couldn't hear, I need some ice."

"We'll have it brought to you momentarily, sir," the man said and pulled the door closed once more.

Chris suppressed a growl and turned back toward Vin's bed. He didn't want to push Vin too hard, but the sooner he was up and around, the sooner Chris and the boys could find a way out of this place-- all seven of them.

"Chris?" Vin asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"What's all this stuff," Vin asked as he waved his free arm over himself and around the room.

"We need to talk," Chris said as he dropped into the chair and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You remember waking up? Before?" 

"It's kind of blurry, but I was tied down, right? And something was choking me." Vin gave a big sigh and winced. "Damn, hurts to breathe deep like that. Seems like it wasn't real. Bad dreams. Strangers all over the place, wearin funny clothes. One of 'em was wearin spectacles. It's all runnin together on me, can't seem to get my thoughts in order."

"It's all right, don't worry about it right now."

"How long we been here?"

"Not sure. I woke up maybe twelve hours ago. You've been in and out."

"Thought I was a goner for sure." Vin raised the arm that had the funny tubing leading into it and studied it for a minute, his fingers going to the place the needle entered his hand.

Chris reached out and grabbed his hand. "Don't mess with that. Doc says you mess with it and it can turn septic." Chris watched as Vin took stock of his body for the first time.

"Everything hurts, can't hardy separate the feelings into what's what."

"Want me to call the doc, get something to take the edge off?"

"No, don't!" Vin said, his eyes widening. "Don't want my head messed up again. Can barely get my thoughts in order as it is."

"Vin," Chris called softly, getting Vin's attention on him, rather than all the strange things around him. "Fellow I've been talking to told me a strange story. Your head on enough to hear it or you want to wait?"

Vin looked around the room then back to Chris. "Might as well tell me, cowboy."

Chris finished his story and Vin studied the room again, taking it all in, considering. Chris loved watching Vin solve a puzzle. He had a way of looking at things from a different perspective than Chris, had a way of picking out the important points in a matter, letting the small, unimportant things go while he got right down to the heart of the matter. He could tell the difference between what was important and what wasn't, seemingly by instinct alone. Chris realized he'd been waiting for Vin to help him work things though, needed Vin to help him, not just the other way around. 

"Got any ideas?" Chris asked softly.

"You ever read anything in them books you always got your head in that would explain any of this?"

"Nope," Chris said, shaking his head.

"I never heard anything that would explain any of this stuff, neither. Seems to me, if this stuff was out there, we'd of heard of it, right?"

"Right."

"So, this Jack feller could be telling the truth."

"That's what I think, too," Chris said, running his hands across his face and scrubbing at his eyes, hard.

"Why don't we sleep on it, maybe ponder some more, later. I still ain't thinking straight, Chris." 

Vin's head shot up, his eyes going to the door as the locking mechanism opened. The nurse entered, carrying a container - ice, Chris knew as soon as he saw it. Chris glanced at Vin, who'd gone lower in the bed, pulling the covers up higher.

"Ma'am," Chris said, meeting her halfway across the room, taking the bucket from her and blocking Vin from her sight.

"I'll take the cart out of your way."

"Leave it." Chris said, not letting her pass. "We're talking... if you can come back later, once I've explained a few things, it would make things easier."

"That's fine," the nurse told him. She headed toward the door, but stopped before going back through. "Doctor Fraiser will be by to check on you before she turns in for the night."

"She lives here?" Chris asked.

"No, but if there's a patient who needs some extra attention, she'll stay overnight."

Chris didn't say anything else, just waited for her to leave so Vin would relax, but she didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

"Uhm... Mr Larabee?" she asked.

He still didn't answer, but gave a short nod, telling her he wasn't happy about her still being there, but he'd talk to her, for the time being.

"It's going to be time to check on Mr. Tanner again in about fifteen minutes. The doctor will be in then." 

He nodded and waited for her to leave before he turned back around to face Vin. Vin was staring at him with a look of pure horror on his face. "What's wrong?" Chris demanded. "Vin, are you all right?" Chris asked again.

"What did they do to me, Chris?" Vin tried to sit up higher, his face going white when he needed to use his stomach muscles to move.

"Vin, stop." Chris said, laying a hand on his arm. "You need to stay still and relax."

"Don't tell me what to do, Chris. You ain't the one in a bed and can't move, all sorts of crap in you!" Vin shrugged off Chris' hand and lay there, breathing shallow, staring hard at Chris.

Shit, Vin must have looked under the sheets. "Vin, it isn't that bad. Think about it, you were gutshot and you're still alive. *That's* what they did to you."

"You wouldn't be sayin' that, if'n you were the one they'd done this to!"

Vin lifted the sheet again, his cheeks and neck slowly turning red. "How many people been gawking at me in the altogether?"

"Vin, no one's been gawking at you. I gave you a bath and I haven't let anyone near you who didn't need to be. And you're not in the altogether, you're wearing a nightshirt."

"Powerful lot of good that does when there ain't a stitch in the seam and I ain't got any drawers!"

Vin was working up to either a powerful streak of stubborn or total silence and Chris didn't know of any way to stop it. If it didn't mean risking his health, Chris wouldn't stop it. Man had a right to say what happened to his own body, no matter what any doctor thought. Even if it meant his life. Chris looked back to Vin and grabbed his hands away from the wound.

"Don't be pulling on that! Look at that hole in you, you want that opening up? Those bits of metal are holding you together."

"It's a sight bigger than the bullet hole was. Someone already slit me open, one side t'the other! No wonder I feel like I been gutted." Vin tried to move again, tried to swing his legs to the side of the bed. "Fuck," he gasped, going still and panting.

"Easy," Chris said, laying his hand on Vin's shoulder. "Please, Vin, stay still."

"M' back feels like it's been cut open, too. Hell, I was happier when I couldn't feel nothing."

Chris sat back down and let Vin gather himself. Let him finish taking stock of his body, flexing this way and that, testing different parts to see what he could use without sending himself back into painful spasms. Chris watched, aching for him. He'd seen Vin's body naked, saw the damage in bruises and cuts... cuts so deep they needed nails holding him together like he was some sort of project. Hell, it hurt Chris to look at 'em, he couldn't imagine what it felt like.

"Don't let anyone near me, Chris. Not till I can do something more than hold up my hands and beg." Vin's voice sounded weak and his words raspy again.

"Have some more ice, Vin."

"Don't want any," Vin said harshly. "I want your word, Chris. And help me get these tubes out, all of 'em." 

The first to go was the strap over his finger. Chris kept himself from reaching out and stopping Vin physically. "Look at me," Chris said, gently. "Please, Vin," he added.

That got him to stop working on the tubes stuck in his arm. His eyes wide, pupils huge, Vin stared at Chris. 

"You already noticed I'm not in charge 'round these parts."

Vin's eyes narrowed and he nodded.

"I'm out of my element, here, Vin. Just like you." God, but that was hard to admit, even to Vin who knew all of him, strengths and weaknesses, better than any man alive.

Vin sat watching him, but at least he'd stopped tearing at the machines. A loud alarm went off, and Chris flinched, turning his head in the direction of the sound. One of the contraptions next to Vin's bed was angry, making a ruckus and Chris knew, just knew, that the doctor and her people would be rushing through that door at any second.

"Let me handle them, Okay?" Chris asked softly.

The doors opened and Vin looked to the medical team rushing in, then back to Chris, nodding softly when he met Chris' eyes.

Dr. Fraiser led the charge on the room, another contraption in her hands, her face telegraphing worry; she was ready to do battle. She pulled up short just a few feet inside the room. "You're awake," she said, moving toward them with less urgency. "The pulse ox alarm went off and we thought you'd stopped breathing."

Chris held up a hand. "Ma'am, wait."

She didn't stop though, just kept coming and Chris stood. Maybe he hadn't quite given his word to Vin, but it sure felt like it. "Hold it," he said, in the tone he used for criminals he was about to gun down. 

This time, she stopped in her tracks and looked to him instead of Vin. "I need to examine him," she said to Chris, but didn't move any closer.

"Before you go jumping in, how about you talk to him, first," Chris told her. Chris loomed over her, realizing for the first time what a tiny woman she was. Intimidating her didn't feel wrong, hell, she had an army backing her. Chris turned to Vin, not liking his color or the look on his face. To people who didn't know him, he'd look like a dangerous man, even cleanly shaven and without his hat hiding half his face. But to Chris, he looked like a man about to meet his maker.

"Vin, this here is Doctor Fraiser."

"You the sawbones done hacked me up?" Vin asked, his chin jutting out and eyes narrowing.

"I operated on you, yes. Without surgery to repair the damage from the bullet, you would have died. You're still very unwell."

"I'm breathing. I reckon I'll be just fine."

Fraiser crossed her ams and widened her stance, staring at Vin until Chris was ready to get between them. 

When she spoke, her tone clearly said she was one who was used to calling the shots. "You're not fine. You need more blood and you have a case of peritonitis that if it gets out of control, will kill you."

"Doc, he doesn't know what that means, neither do I."

"It means, if he doesn't get the right treatment, he'll die. Can I take a look?" she asked, looking to Vin and not Chris.

Vin thought about it for a long moment, then pursed his lips and nodded. She approached him slowly, first taking down the sides of the bed, then lowering the sheet to get to the wound across his belly. "The incision looks fine," she said, after looking at it for a moment. She pressed down on different spots and Vin didn't flinch. "Hurt?" she asked him.

He shook his head, but didn't look at her, just kept staring at a spot on the wall over her head.

She replaced the sheets and smoothed them down, then raised the railings again. "Mind if I sit?" she asked softly.

Vin gave a tight nod and Chris moved to stand next to the head of the bed. Chris felt useless, less than useless. 

"Mr. Tanner, I want to apologize. I became so focused on making you well, I let myself forget your circumstances."

"M'what?" Vin asked, still not looking at her.

"I'm in charge of the hospital on this base. It's my responsibility to keep everyone well and treat them if they're hurt. It's a responsibility I take very seriously. That means everyone here, including you. I lost sight of the fact you might not see it that way, Mr. Tanner. I'm sorry."

Vin finally looked at her, his face softening. "Reckon you can call me Vin, ma'am."

She smiled at him, making her look less military and more feminine and Chris relaxed his stance a little. Always shocked him what sort of effect Vin had on the ladies no matter their ages. Couldn't just be the way he looked, there were lots of good looking men out there. Had to be some sort of combination of his manners, quiet ways and maybe something else that women had a way of sensing. Men sensed it too, but his gentleness of spirit made men think he was an easy target sometimes. Left more than one of them dead, too.

Chris didn't move from Vin's side as the doctor explained to him just what that peri-whatsit thing was. Chris reminded himself to ask Nathan about it. Though Nathan would probably be out of his element too. Hell, forget probably, make that definitely. Chris met Vin's eyes a few times, silently supporting him through hearing all the things that could go wrong and when the doctor left the chair next to Vin's bed to go get something, Chris slipped back into it, his body bone-weary and ready to drop.

"You un'erstand any of that?" Vin asked him.

"Nope," Chris said, leaning back in the chair. "Where'd she go?"

"Said she was going to get some pictures of m'insides."

Doctor Fraiser was back quickly, holding her picture things up to the lamps so she could show Vin what she meant. Vin tried hard to see what she was pointing to, his face all scrunched up and squinty eyed.

"Tired?" Chris asked him after noticing Vin's hands shaking and his eyelids starting to get heavy.

"Could sleep," Vin said around a big yawn.

"I'll leave you alone for the night after I check a few more things," Fraiser told the two men. She grabbed the tablet from the end of Vin's bed, then walked around to the side the machines were on. She reached for something on the side of the bed and when she raised her hand, holding some sort of container, Vin nearly jumped out of bed. 

Vin bit back a sharp gasp, flinching hard at whatever she was doing.

"What's that?" Chris asked, placing one hand on Vin's chest and leaning over the bed.

"Chris," Vin said, struggling against Chris' hand.

"I'm done, Vin," Fraiser said softly, replacing the bag on the side of Vin's bed. "We need to check the output from your catheter. It's very important that you're passing enough urine. It's how we determine if your body is functioning properly. It will only be for another twenty-four hours, or once we're sure your body is filtering your blood properly."

"Take that thing out'ta me," Vin snapped.

"I'm sorry, I know it's uncomfortable, Vin. But it is very important to your overall health. If your body doesn't eliminate waste, then there is something very wrong and we need to worry about it."

"Stop talking about my plumbing. Ain't right!"

Vin's face was bright red and he wouldn't look at anyone, not even Chris.

"Vin," Fraiser said, "It also needs to be cleaned to prevent infection. The nurse will be in soon to get you settled for the night."

"I said take it out. Or I will."

"He doesn't have to have anything he doesn't want. I heard you tell him that," Chris reminded her.

"No, he doesn't," Fraiser said, letting out a sigh. "I saw the scar left when you cauterized a gunshot wound, Vin. I'm sure that wasn't comfortable."

"That's different!" Vin shouted.

"How?" Fraiser asked, seemingly genuinely curious. "You did what needed to be done because you understood the need behind it. I'm trying to explain to you the need behind some of these procedures."

Vin was still bright red and Chris wanted to step in, but he knew Vin wouldn't appreciate it. 

"Don't do no good to fix a man's body if he's likely to wanta die of shame when you're through with him!" Vin yelled. 

Chris could only stand next to Vin, torn between empathy and understanding that some things just had to be borne.

"Shame?" Fraiser asked. She looked to Chris and he shook his head. 

"Vin," I'm going to walk the doctor out."

"Don't let that nurse in here, Chris."

Fraiser looked back and forth between the two men like she wanted to tell them something, but Chris shook his head at her and extended his arm.She gave him a hard look, but preceded him anyway. 

Before they got to the door, though, it swung open for that Daniel fella. "The guard paged Jack, but he was in the middle of something, so he sent me. Is everything all right?"

Fraiser sighed. "A minor rebellion."

Chris bristled. "A man fighting for his dignity isn't what I call a rebellion, lady."

"Poor choice of words," Fraiser conceded, palms up in the air.

Daniel blinked rapidly, looking from him to Fraiser, then glancing at Vin. "Right. This has to be overwhelming for him."

"Daniel, I've tried to explain exactly why he needs the treatment he's getting. I've tried taking it slowly, but--"

"But explanations aren't going to be much help," Daniel said, interrupting Fraiser.

"What'll help," Chris grated, "is getting that damn thing out of him, like he asked."

"Catheter," Fraiser said softly. "The IV's bother him, too, but mostly the catheter."

"Have it taken out," Daniel said, surprising Chris with an authoritative tone.

"Daniel? I can't do that yet, it would be irresponsible to remove it before I'm certain that his digestive system--" 

"Deal with it later, if it comes to that," Daniel said, interrupting her yet again. "Janet, this is a complete culture shock. A few explanations aren't going to just sweep away everything he's felt and known in his lifetime. The very idea of having an... object... like that invading his body-- especially a very personal part of his body that no woman but a wife is supposed to see-- is completely alien to him. This has to be more stressful for him than you realize."

Chris folded his arms over his chest and glared at the doc. He wasn't really ready to trust this Daniel character, but for this at least, he'd take an ally anywhere he could get one.

"This is just so contrary to how I've been trained to practice medicine," she finally said, casting a look back at Vin that Chris believed carried genuine concern.

"Well, imagine how they feel," Daniel said, then looked at Chris with a shrug. "They aren't the only ones who need to make some adjustments."

The woman snorted a little, and shook her head. "Nice for you to get to be the good guy here, Daniel."

"I know," he answered with a small grin.

"Well?" Chris prompted, not in the mood to watch these people banter with each other.

"Okay, then. We'll have it removed. But I still need to monitor his urine output. He'll have a container for that, and it will only be handled by my patient and the staff monitoring its level."

It was odd, the way this tiny woman felt so free to lay down the law, or make it sound like she was doing so, even when she'd just had to give in to something.

"Oh, and Janet? Make sure you send a male member of the staff for this? The less a strange woman pokes and prods him, the better."

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, but left the room without further argument. Chris glanced at Daniel, still deciding whether or not to thank him. He didn't doubt that one way or another, Vin would have gotten that tube out of him, but he had to admit that it would be easier on him with these people taking it out voluntarily.

"I'll just, um, get out of your way, now," Daniel said after the lengthy silence.

Chris nodded, figuring that was thanks enough, for now. 

"Is there anything you can think of that you might need?"

"It'd be good to have some of our things back," Chris said, eyes firmly on Vin.

"Of course, of course," Daniel stammered. "I'll bring them to you myself."

Chris nodded again, and headed back toward the bed. He leaned over Vin. "Hey, pard." Vin's face burrowed into the pillow instead of turning up to meet Chris' eyes. "Vin, it's going to get better. They're sending some fella in here to get that tube out of you."

Vin did finally turn his head at that. Chris swallowed hard at the anger and humiliation in Vin's eyes. "This stuff ain't natural, Chris."

"I know. But you're alive, and I can't be sorry for that, unnatural as the means of keeping you that way might have been."

Vin shook his head, eyes glittering. "We all go sooner or later, cowboy."

"I vote for later," Chris said, taking Vin's hand and squeezing.

Chris sat again, pulling the chair close to Vin's bed. He was exhausted. He didn't know how much longer he could hang on without some real sleep.

The door opening again caught his attention a few minutes later. When he looked up, some huge thing on wheels was being pushed through. Chris realized after a second glance that it was some kind of bed, folded in two, and put on wheels. It was Daniel pushing it, and he had his and Vin's saddlebags over his shoulders. 

"What the hell?" Vin muttered, twisting his head around to see what the fuss was.

Daniel put the saddlebags on the floor next to Chris' chair. "I promised I'd bring your things, so, um, here they are. And that," Daniel pointed to the bed, "is for you to get some rest without having to leave."

Chris looked from the bed, to Vin, and back to Daniel. "How does that thing work?"

Daniel grinned and waved him over. "Here, I'll show you. Just move these clasps out of the way, one on each side, and the bed unfolds. It has sheets on it, but I'll have to grab a pillow and blanket from the supply closet. I'll just be a minute," he said, then was off again.

Chris shook his head, turning back to Vin. "Looks like you'll be getting right comfortable, Chris."

"Not 'til you are."

A flush rose again on Vin's cheeks. "Thanks," Vin said softly.

"I got your back, Vin, whenever and wherever I can," Chris answered, his own voice just as low. Vin looked away for a second, but Chris knew what was on his mind. "You'll be doing the same for me soon enough. I don't doubt it, and you shouldn't either."

Vin nodded, looking a little more sure of himself. Chris knew that getting that damned thing out of Vin would be a critical first step in him getting his sense of independence back. Vin was strong-- stronger than these people realized-- and if Chris was sure of one thing in this whole, crazy mess, it was that Vin would be back up on his feet and watching his back in no time.

Chris put their saddlebags down at the foot of Vin's bed and opened them. His spare set of clothes, a book he'd already read, some cheroots... the flask of whiskey was gone and so was his extra ammunition. He knew his rig wouldn't be among his things, either. 

He looked up to see Vin dozing off and he reached out and grabbed Vin's ankle, giving his leg a little shake.

"Yeah?" Vin asked without opening his eyes.

"Want anything out of your saddlebag?"

"My drawers."

"How about I ask that Daniel fellow about maybe getting 'em washed first?"

"I suppose it cain't hurt," Vin sighed out. "Is my medicine bag in there?"

Chris rooted around in Vin's bag, noting his spyglass, his harmonica, a whole passel of bandanas, two shirts, a pair of longhandles and the little leatherbound journal Chris had given to him the past Christmas. Chris'd packed the bag himself when they'd set out to find Vin. It looked like everything but his knife and guns was in there. 

"I don't see your medicine bag, but you were wearing it, maybe the nurses have it somewhere."

Daniel came back in the room, his arms piled high with blankets and pillows. "I'll just put these down," Daniel said, his voice muffled.

Chris pulled out his cheroots and shook one out of the package, putting it in his mouth. He dug around his saddle bags... he knew he put some Lucifers in there, somewhere.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked him, his tone sharp.

Chris just stared at him. Now what, he almost said, but decided silence would be more effective. Daniel liked to talk and Chris was sick of people talking at him. He wanted them to leave him and Vin alone and let them get some shut eye.

"You can't smoke in here."

"Fine. Where can I smoke?"

"Nowhere on the base, actually."

"Well then, show me outside. You can babysit if you have to."

"Chris," Vin said, "we're underground. Outside could be a ways away."

"That right?" he asked Daniel, tilting his head.

"Uhm.. actually, yes, it is right. How did you know that?" he asked Vin.

"Can just feel it," Vin said, his words trailing off as he dozed.

Chris put his cheroot back in his bag. He was getting mighty sick of being told what he could and couldn't do. "Where's my whiskey?" he asked Daniel.

"With your weapons," Daniel said. "I'm sorry, alcohol isn't allowed on the base."

"If you plan on holding us prisoner, you'd better find some way to change that rule. The boys aren't going to take to being told they can't drink."

"I'll see what I can do," Daniel said after a moment. "Do you want me to see about having your clothes washed? Jack sent some clothes for you. You look to be about his size."

"Right now, I plan on stripping down and going to bed." Chris looked at him, inviting him to the door with a nod of his head.

"Okay, I'll be leaving now." Daniel turned to leave, stopping at the door and turning around to ask another question. "Uhm, Buck told me to ask you what you named your new colt."

Good thinking, Buck. Sometimes, Buck surprised him. They'd known each other so long, it didn't happen often, usually when Chris was underestimating him. "I haven't, yet." Chris told Daniel. "Was going to let Vin do it." The colt had been born the day Vin went missing, before anyone even knew there was trouble.

"Okay then," Daniel said. "I don't know how long it will be until someone comes to take care of uhm... uhm... what we talked about. It's late, I'll let you get some rest."

"What time is it?"

"Oh... a little after midnight, I think."

Chris watched Daniel leave and immediately regretted not asking how to turn off the damn lamps. He was seething and didn't want to ask anyone for anything. How dare these people go through their things? It wasn't right. Not right at all. It was bad enough he couldn't show Vin the affection he craved to show him, had to leave him in that bed all alone and hurting. But to be so damned dependent on these people for everything? Not right at all. 

"Chris?" Vin called softly.

Chris turned back to face Vin, tried to relax his stance a little; he didn't need to be adding the worry about his own mental state to Vin's load about now.

"Maybe the best thing we can do is sit back and let things unfold."

"Yeah, you're right," Chris said softly, moving over to get close enough to touch. "How are you feeling."

"Not so good. Hot, thirsty, gut's on fire 'bout now."

"How about you try to get some sleep, not much we can do about anything else for now. The rest of the boys are fine. Buck even figured out a way to make sure we're really all right too."

"Got any water?"

"Doc said you can't have any. Ice to suck on is all you get for now."

"That don't hardly sound right. Nate's always going on about how we need to drink when we're shot."

"Yeah but the doctor said your insides can't handle it right now. You're getting water through that thing in your arm."

"S'all so unnatural."

"Wish I could do more, pard. I'm feeling pretty useless."

"Me too," Vin said, his eyes closing.

Chris waited a few minutes to be certain he was truly asleep this time. He stripped down and examined the clothes Daniel had brought for him. Among the pile, he found a comfortable looking set of shorts. They were grey, felt like cotton and long enough to cover halfway down his thighs. They were a little thin, but it wasn't cold in the room and Daniel brought plenty of blankets.

He stripped down to the skin and took his time getting dressed. Anyone wanted to look, let 'em. Chris checked Vin one more time before climbing into the narrow bed. He should have had the balls to kiss him like he wanted to, but because he was ready to flaunt whatever he wanted in rebellion didn't mean Vin was.

Chris hadn't even fallen to sleep, was just on the edge when the door opened again. A tall skinny fellow in a white coat came in and Chris swung his feet to the floor, but didn't get up. "Don't touch him without letting him know what you're doing first," Chris said softly.

"I'll try not to frighten him, sir."

Chris huffed out a little snort. "Isn't him I'm worried about."

The guy gave him an odd look and Chris slowly got to his feet. That narrow bed was mighty comfortable and Chris hated to leave it. But if Vin woke up swinging, maybe that doctor fellow wouldn't be too appreciative - might lead to some discomfort for Vin in the long run and Chris would do what he could to prevent that.

"Let me wake him," Chris said softly.

It only took saying his name a couple of times and Vin blinked awake. 

"Vin, this man's going to take care of things for you. You okay with that?"

Vin nodded and closed his eyes again and Chris wasn't sure if he was avoiding the situation or if he just couldn't keep awake any longer. Chris settled back down on his cot, sitting up, and waited for the man to finish. He let him give Vin instructions, paying attention because he knew Vin was barely awake.

"I'll leave you alone now," the guy told Chris. He held up his hand, some string thing in it, and said, "If you need anything, you press this button and someone will be right here."

"We going to be allowed to get some shut-eye now?"

"Yes sir," the man said and backed out of the room, pressing something on the wall on the way out. 

The lamps went dim and Chris contemplated getting up to go see how he did that, but instead decided that could wait until he'd had some much needed sleep. It seemed like ages since he slept and it had been at least four days since he slept for more than an hour or two at a time. How could a man asleep 125 years need to sleep more, he wondered as he finally fell asleep.

Chris didn't know what woke him, one moment he was in a dreamless sleep, the next, he was staring at that strange ceiling. This time, he didn't panic when he woke and he shook off the thought that a man actually *could* get used to anything. He didn't want to get used to this.

He lay still for a moment, listening. Someone else was in the room and was talking quietly. Mystery as to what woke him solved, Chris listened in. Both female, one the doctor and one a voice he didn't recognize, Chris rolled over to watch them. They didn't notice him and he continued to lay silently, watching them.

A woman, Chris had no guess as to her age, and the Doctor lady. The doctor wasn't wearing her coat and both women were wearing the sort of uniform O'Neill wore. Seeing Fraiser without her medical coat gave him a good look at her rank. Captain? Fraiser a captain? Maybe rank insignia had changed over time, but Chris didn't think so. And the blonde woman? A major? 

He was having a hard enough time dealing with woman being in the army, being doctors... but as majors and captains? Another blonde flashed through Chris' mind. Mary Travis. Damn woman was infuriating, didn't stop chasing him until he had to tell her straight out it wasn't ever going to happen. To her credit, as soon as he said the words, she did stop pursuing him. 

She'd insisted more times than he'd like to count, that one day, men will no longer control women as chattel... she liked to point out the ways it was already beginning... liked to say it was about time and if a war was needed to release women from their slavery, well, she'd take up arms if it happened in her lifetime.

But that was the crazy talk she spouted after attending a conference in New York. She came back to Four Corners on a crusade, publishing articles about women's suffrage, weekly, until she had herself a following of womenfolk and the ire of a lot of the men. Looked like she might have been on to something.

He listened to the women talking softly, but couldn't hear what they were saying. The stranger looked up and met his eyes and Chris didn't try to hide that he was watching them. She put her index finger to her lips and nudged the doc until she looked up and saw him awake, too.

Both women came around Vin's bed to where Chris' bed was and he made no move to get up and meet them. If they were going to disturb him in the middle of the night, he wasn't going to show them any polite considerations.

"I'm Sam," the blonde said. "Uhm... Major Samantha Carter," she said when he gave her a blank stare. Hell, he just wanted to sleep. 

After a a long minute of staring at each other, Fraiser said, "His fever's up a little, but that's to be expected. It isn't anything to worry about just yet."

Chris kept staring at them, wondering why this couldn't have waited until morning.

"I wanted to show you how to contact me directly before I went to bed. If anything happens, call me immediately."

And if he wasn't supposed to worry, why was she so interested in him being able to reach her? And was she staying so close he would be able to call out to her? She'd better not be planning on sleeping in there with him and Vin. Chris sat up, ready to challenge her.

Fraiser, once he sat up, motioned for her to follow him. He did, not bothering to cover himself with a blanket. If they didn't like the way he was dressed, they didn't have to pull him from his bed.

"This is a telephone - like a telegraph. Pick up this, put it to your ear, then press the buttons 3274 - the phone in my quarters will ring and you'll be able to speak to me directly."

Major Carter handed him a piece of paper and when he glanced at it, the numbers Fraiser had spouted were written in even, block letters.

He nodded his head to her and took the paper. "When did women start joining the army?"

Carter shook her head, looking a little confused. "No, no, we're not army. We're Air Force."

Chris took it all in and said nothing. Air Force? Sure looked like the army to him. He filed that bit of information under 'things to be examined later' and waited for them to leave.

Once they left, he checked on Vin - he did feel feverish - then crawled back into his cot. But he couldn't fall asleep - the events of the past day were crawling around in his head. While everything was happening, he could do nothing but react and protect himself and his men as well as he could. Now, in a quiet room with the artificial sounds of the contraptions keeping Vin alive... he had time to think and it was all hitting him hard. 

Less than twenty-four hours before, he was trying to track down Vin. Stupid bankrobbers - thinking they were going to collect on a bounty after robbing a bank. Stupid, fucking idiots. Only twelve hours before, he'd been trying to hold Vin's life's blood in with his hands. Had him locked in a fierce grip, fighting the hereafter to keep Vin in the now. He knew it was a losing battle, but kept fighting the war anyway. He never thought he'd win like this.

He threw back the blankets and rose to go check on Vin. Darn doctor had him ten kinds of worried now. This new kind of doctoring didn't seem to make any sense. Like Vin said earlier, a body needed rest to heal - not to be poked and prodded and roused every damn hour. Chris pulled the chair closer and reached out to touch Vin, to make sure he was real in this strange new reality.

He was real. Real warm, too. Beads of sweat were coming up on his upper lip and Chris reached out and wiped them away. He let his hand linger for a minute, feeling for breath. Satisfied, he ran his palm down the side of Vin's face and Vin hitched in a breath and nuzzled into Chris' hand. Chris patted him on the cheek, then leaned back to try to get some more sleep.

Next time he woke, it was to sounds of retching. Chris pulled out the funny shaped bucket the nurse showed him earlier and got it under Vin's mouth just in time to catch the little bit of gunk came flying out.

"Easy," Chris said as he placed the bucket down and reached for Vin's shoulders. The way he was flopping around, he was setting himself up for some powerful hurting.

"Ugh... Chris?" Vin asked, his voice still weak and throaty.

"Right here. You feel like you're going to puke again?"

"Maybe... hurts."

"What hurts? Want the docs and some of their pain killers?"

"No," Vin sighed. "Everything hurts. Probably take smashing me in the head to make it not hurt. I curl in, the hole in m'back pulls and if I straighten out my belly hurts so bad I'm gonna bite through my tongue to keep from screaming."

Chris grabbed a cloth and wiped the gunk from the sides of Vin's mouth, smoothing his hair back with his free hand. "Ice?" 

"Some left?"

"No, but I can get someone to bring some. Almost like staying in a fancy hotel."

"No, don't! Just want it to be us for awhile, cowboy."

"Did you just call me a cowboy?"

"Yup, I reckon I did." Vin leaned forward in the bed, shifting around, trying to get comfortable but he couldn't hide his pain. He wasn't even trying and that worried Chris more than the flushed cheeks and shallow breathing.

"I'm going to call the doc."

"Give it a few minutes, Okay? I don't want to be beholden to these people any more'n we are already."

"They're holding us - they can doctor you, feed us and keep me in rotgut. They don't like it, they can let us go."

"Yeah?" Vin asked, turning his head and squinting up at Chris. "Where?" he asked after a minute.

"Where what, Vin?"

"Where are we gonna go. You keep saying they need to let us go an I agree with 'ya. But where we gonna go *to*?"

"Hell, I don't know."

"Then quit your bitching about not being able to go somewheres until you got enough scouting done to know where it is we're going to." Vin's soft tone and reaching out hand were enough to soften his words so Chris wouldn't argue with him. Man played him like a fiddle. He wouldn't have it any other way, either.

Chris cupped Vin's face in his hand and whispered, "You make sense, even when you're addled."

"Been telling you that for three years, Chris."

Chris reached out to cuff him softly on the head but he laid his hand over his forehead instead. Vin wasn't just a little feverish, he was starting to burn and Chris wasn't going to give him the choice about calling the doctor. Hell, they were stuck here, might as well take advantage of things.

Before he could reach for the cord to press the button, Vin was rolling over, reaching out for the basin again. Chris handed it to him just in time for Vin to spit out some green and yellow, slimy liquid. It took him a minute to catch his breath and Chris stood there with nothing to do but wait it out. 

"Goddamned, that hurts," Vin hissed out between clenched jaws. "Fuck, Chris, even getting whipped till my backside was raw didn't hurt so much's this."

"How about digging out a bullet and cauterizing the wound yourself? Worse than that?"

"Hell, I was drunk for that one. And I tied off my leg so's I didn't feel it."

"What about the time Peso threw you into the bed of prickly pears?"

"Hell, Chris, remindin' me of other hurts ain't gonna make this one any less."

"Sorry - thought it might get your mind off it."

"Only thing gonna take my mind off it is being six feet under," Vin breathed out.

Chris gripped his hand and growled, "Don't you even fucking joke about that, Tanner."

Vin didn't fight the tight grip, even squeezed back a little and Chris was torn between getting someone to help and holding on to Vin with every last bit of strength he had.

"Wish we wasn't underground. Like to know if it's day or night."

"Almost dawn, I'd guess, Vin. People been in and out three times since that Daniel fellow left around midnight."

"Don't really matter, I guess. Just wish we was sitting on the porch, kicking back with our feet up, watching the sun rise, sipping on some coffee, instead of here."

"Now that's a nice picture, Vin. Keep that in your head while I see about getting someone in here."

Vin closed his eyes and nodded and Chris pulled his hand away. He fumbled around the bedclothes until he found that string with the button on the end. He summoned the medical staff and sat back down to wait, trying to convince himself everything was going to be fine.


	11. 11

*****

Jack dropped the battered paperback onto his desk and leaned back in his chair. An interesting read... sort of like an old version of the national enquirer but with only one story. It was dog-eared and battered, obviously read many times over. Even still, it would probably be worth a lot on the collector's market - Jack had never even seen a famed 'dime novel' before.

It gave him an interesting insight into these men. He considered Larabee for a minute and could believe the man was a stone cold killer. Could also believe he was one to protect the innocent. He just had that air about him that said, 'you hurt someone weaker than you, you answer to me.' Jack could relate.

Okay, so the stories were all exaggerated, he understood that. It's what sold papers... er... dime novels. Books like this one were part of what sent young men heading west to seek their fortune. Dunne let him borrow the book and Jack read it in an hour. Daniel would probably want to read it - he'd check before he gave it back.

He had Carter checking some of the facts in the book -- like Larabee's family being murdered, Tanner being wanted for murder - even if he insisted he was framed - the search for Larabee's family's killer. Carter found issues of 'The Clarion' in the New Mexico historical society's archives and had a request in. It might take awhile, the back issues of the paper weren't scanned into any computer system yet and they were the centerpiece of the Frontier collection. He'd just have to wait for the paperwork to come through. He'd learn more then.

For now, he had a higher priority issue on his plate. What would they do with Larabee if and when Tanner didn't make it? For two days now, Tanner's condition steadily declined. His fever raged, he was in constant pain, his abdomen was distended and Fraiser was locked in a battle with Larabee. To open him up again or not to open him up again. That *was* the question, all right.

Jack had been avoiding the infirmary for the past few hours, but a decision needed to be made. Hammond would make the final decision, but Jack was taking point on this one. The General would make his decision based on Jack's input. 

Did Larabee have the right to make the choices on Tanner's medical care, or did the good old US Air Force have the right to make the decision? Larabee insisted Tanner wouldn't want it - Fraiser insisted Tanner could die without it... or even with it. And that was the wrench in the works. 

Larabee wanted guarantees, Fraiser wouldn't give them. He might die without the surgery, he might die even with the surgery. Jack's first instinct was to say go ahead with the surgery. Larabee wasn't family - didn't have a say in the matter. If Daniel was the one dying by inches, Jack would hold Fraiser's scalpel and wipe her brow himself. But, and here was the kicker. If he was the one in the bed, he'd want Daniel to make the choice Jack wanted - not the one Daniel wanted.

All reports of Tanner said he wouldn't want the surgery. If the guy would just wake up, this whole thing could be avoided. That Wilmington guy said Tanner would never do something so simple. He'd been taken down by fever once before, according to Wilmington. He was out of for nearly a week from an infected knife wound. He woke up, demanded his clothes and headed for the hills. 

Now that information sure as hell didn't help him make a decision. They were in such a grey area here. So many shades of grey. The seven men didn't have any kind of legal status. They were dead - most of them were never alive, if the government's need for paper to prove someone's existence were taken into account. The only two with any kind of birth record were Dunne and Larabee - and Daniel found those only because he was the Merlin of all researchers. Death records were probably in The Clarion. But reports of their deaths were greatly exaggerated, as the saying went.

So, without legal status, they didn't technically have the rights that most nice legal residents of the good old U S of A were entitled to. As far as Jack could tell, the *only* one who could make the decision wasn't cooperating and was too delirious to even answer yes or no questions.

But, according to the rest of the gang, the two were as close as any family. They lived together, raised horses together... and all you had to do was watch them together to know Larabee and Tanner were tight. 

Fraiser argued that if they were in a civilian hospital, both Tanner and Larabee would be declared mentally incompetent to make the decision. They didn't have the basic understanding of the human body that even children had in this day and age - ergo, not competent to make a decision.

This was so not in his job description. Jack stretched in his chair and thought about reading that book again, but the answers weren't in there.

Pie, he needed pie. Maybe it wouldn't help him make a decision, but it might take away some of the gnawing his stomach had going. He picked up his phone to call Daniel, but put it back down. Daniel was busy, he reminded himself. Jack was the one sitting on his ass not doing anything but thinking. And thinking wasn't Jack's strong suit. Doing was what he was best at. And he did doing well, if he did say so himself. 

Hell, it wasn't his right to make this decision, either. And that's what he'd tell Hammond - right after he had some pie. 

Daniel wasn't working, Jack noticed as soon as he walked into the commissary. Or well, he wasn't working in his office. After snagging some pie, he headed to join Daniel at his table. 

Daniel looked up, didn't say anything and started moving papers and books out of his way.

"Whatcha doin?" Jack asked as he plopped into his chair.

Daniel glanced up and then went right back to his work. "Trying to find more background information."

"Nothing that will help with the current situation?"

Daniel shook his head, saying, "Nope," at the same time.

"So why are you finding more background? Not really going to help with anything, is it?"

"I'm thinking ahead."

"Oh," Jack said and dug into his pie.

After a minute, Daniel put his pen down and stared until Jack stopped eating. 

Fork halfway to his mouth, Jack asked, "What?"

"I'm trying to find out what happened to the people they were closest to. You know... to give them some closure."

"You think that's a good idea?" It wasn't like any of them could do anything about it and it might just open things up. It might not help at all. "It's old news Daniel. There isn't anything that can be done."

"It's not old news to them."

"I know that, Daniel."

"But do you really understand, though? All this stuff happened just a few days ago for them. I was talking with JD and he had only been married a few months before they were kidnapped. His wife was expecting."

"Ouch," Jack said, shaking his head in sympathy.

"Jackson was married too. Wilmington was engaged. Tanner and Larabee didn't have any family. I don't know much about Sanchez or Standish. So, I'm doing research. I can't do much yet, not without their local newspaper... but I can't really do anything else, can I?"

"You could ask them instead of doing research." Okay, he really hated it when Daniel acted like Jack just drop-kicked his puppy. So he ignored it.

Jack let out a sigh. Of course Daniel wanted to be useful. And books were useful, in Dr. Jackson's world. They only had another five days or so until they went back into the gate rotation. No matter how interesting and unique the current situation was, Hammond could only really keep them out of commission for a week.

Jack put down his fork and leaned forward on the table. "Daniel. I don't know what's going to happen with these guys. We'll do what we can to get them settled, but we have a job to do."

"I know that," Daniel said softly. Daniel shuffled his papers around some more, took a few sips of coffee, fidgeted in his chair.

"What?" Jack finally asked.

"What are you going to do about Tanner?"

"I haven't decided."

"I was heading down there; you want to come with me?"

"Yeah, I need to talk to Larabee again."

Jack finished his pie in silence. Daniel was trying to be helpful, but opening old wounds and pointing out everything these men had lost wasn't the way Jack would go about handling it. None of these men seemed like big talkers when it came to feelings. Hell, maybe they did with each other... but he had his suspicions they wouldn't be exactly grateful to Daniel for his research. Another thing to deal with later.

"Let's go face the lion in his den," Jack said as he stood to leave. He waited for Daniel to gather his things before heading for the door.

When they stepped into the observation room, it was immediately obvious the situation hadn't improved. Jack studied Tanner for a minute, he'd deal with Larabee later. He didn't look any better, but maybe not worse. He was propped on his side, held in place by pillows. He looked washed out... wasting away. Pale, sweaty and while not unconscious, pretty out of it.

The room was empty of medical staff, Jack was thankful for that at least. Must not be in a crisis at the moment. Larabee glanced up and Jack nodded to him, but Larabee didn't pay them much attention. He sat in the chair he always seemed to be sitting in when Jack visited, his hand gripping Tanner's, giving both of them something to hold on to.

Jack took a seat at the table and waited for Daniel to join him.

"I thought you needed to talk to him," Daniel said.

"I'll let him come to me," Jack said as he picked up the phone. He dialed Fraiser, he needed an update from her as well.

He chatted with her for a few minutes as Daniel listened and watched. Nothing new to report. Tanner's fever wasn't going down. His belly was infected. She wanted to operate - go digging for dead tissue. The latest scans showed some suspicious spots. It might help, it might not.

Soon after he hung up with Fraiser, Daniel nudged him and pointed. "Larabee's on his way in," Daniel said, unnecessarily. 

Larabee looked older. Exhausted. But he didn't look like a guy out of time any more. He wore SGC issue blue pants and a black t-shirt. The combat boots were a nice touch. No jacket, or he'd be in the uniform of the day. If he was in the uniform, Jack's life would be so much easier. Frasier would be the one making the decisions on the patient's medical care. Like she should be.

"You need something?" Larabee asked without entering the room.

"Have you made a decision?"

"I told you you're not cutting him open again."

Jack winced, struggled for patience. "No, I'm not. The doctors would be. They said it's routine surgery and he needs it."

"Cutting a man open isn't routine. I don't care what year it is."

Jack looked to Daniel, but he wasn't helping, just sitting silently. And didn't it just figure that when Jack wanted Daniel's input, he wasn't giving it. 

"Look," Larabee said, his stance relaxing a fraction. "I don't want him to get worse. Maybe to die. But Fraiser said 50-50 with the surgery and 50/50 without it. Those aren't good enough odds to put him through that again."

"Don't you want to do everything possible?" Daniel asked, his tone neutral.

Larabee's body went rigid again and his eyes narrowed to slits. "Not if it means torturing him just to watch him die anyway. I won't let anyone do that to him. And the only way you're going to get to him is through me. Just so we're clear on that."

"We're clear," Jack said. Larabee turned and left the room without another word. "That went well," Jack said to Daniel. "Don'tcha think?" Jack shrugged and Daniel glanced at him sideways, not joining in on the lame joke.

"He's awfully protective of him," Daniel said after watching the two men for a few moments.

"Hell, Daniel, it it was you in that bed, I would be exactly the same way. I *have* been exactly the same way." It'd nearly killed him, but he'd stopped the others from trying to heal Daniel's radiation burns. But then again, he had Daniel telling him to tell them to stop. He didn't just make the decision based on what he *thought* Daniel would want. 

He really should get up and leave. He did have a mountain of paperwork sitting on his desk just waiting for him - cowboys aside, he had things to do. Instead he watched Tanner and Larabee some more. 

Larabee wiped Tanner's face and chest, leaning close to whisper to him. Tanner's eyes were half open, but completely unfocused. Larabee cupped Tanner's face with his hand, the other hand holding Vin's. Larabee's hand drifted from Tanner's face to brush sweaty locks of his hair from his pale forehead, so soft and intimate, it could only be called a caress. He leaned in close again and pressed his lips to Tanner's temple, lingering from one heartbeat to the next before he finally pulled back a fraction. Whoa, there! Did he just kiss him? Yup, that's exactly what he did. 

Jack looked at Daniel-- who looked back at him with a sideways glance and raised eyebrows that said he'd seen it, too. "Uhm, Daniel?" .

"Yeah?"

"Maybe not *exactly* like them."

"Uhm... right...," Daniel stuttered as he got to his feet. "I have to check in with Sam." He was out the door faster than Jack could even process the fact he was leaving.

"Right," Jack said to the empty room.


	12. 12

*****

 

"General?" Jack asked as he stuck his head into Hammond's office. Whoops -- Hammond had company. "Hey Jacob," Jack called. "You guys busy?"

"No, Colonel, come on in," Hammond waved. "I was about to gather SG1 - Jacob brought some information that might shed some light on the goings on on P3X-713."

"Business, then?" Jack asked as he stepped into the room.

"Unfortunately," Carter said. "I wish I was able to come more often for personal reasons, but I can sneak in a visit while I'm here."

"Working vacation," Jack nodded. I'm sort of on one of those right now. Sam too."

"Well, Colonel, that's about to end if the Tok'ra information turns out to be accurate."

"What've you got?" All thoughts of cowboys and individual life and death decisions swept aside for the moment, Jack listened intently as Jacob reported on Bahl's illicit troop movements on and off an insignificant world.

"Let's call the rest of SG1 in and we'll go over it in more depth," Hammond said, after listening to the short version of events. 

"I'll call Teal'c," Jack volunteered. "Conference room in two hours or so?"

"Sounds good," Carter said. "That will give me some time with Sam."

Jack let Jacob leave first, in search of his daughter, before broaching the subject he'd initially come to talk to Hammond about.

"General, I think we need to let Larabee make the final decision."

"You're recommending we sit back and watch as that young man possibly dies? While we have the resources to save his life?"

"Maybe save his life. Larabee insists Tanner would be DNR."

"But Larabee doesn't have the legal right to make that decision - or the knowledge to make an informed decision."

"But their legal situation isn't all that... legal. And I think he understands well enough. It's not the choice I would make... but I think we have to let Larabee have the final say."

"Colonel, it goes against everything we are to sit back and not do everything we can to help that boy."

"But he's not one of our men. I'll work on Larabee some more, but I don't think he's going to budge. If Fraiser said to him - 'look, we know what's wrong with him and this is how we fix it and then he'll be better' - I think Larabee would tell us to go ahead. But what she's told him is that she *thinks* he's got some dead tissue inside and that's what's causing his deterioration. She can't give him absolutes. And without them, he thinks opening up Tanner again is unnecessary torture. Especially if that's not what's causing him to go downhill. She made the mistake of telling him it could be one of ten different things causing it."

"She told him the truth -- I'd expect nothing less."

"Yeah, but I think she might have told him too much truth," Jack said. "He might be overloaded with information."

"I see your point. So why are you recommending Larabee be given the final say."

"They're closer than we thought. He's next of kin."

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure."

"All right then... we'll designate him next of kin, making all medical decisions his alone."

Two hours later and Jack listened intently as Jacob Carter summarized what the Tok'ra thought was going on on P -blah blah blah. Bahl was developing a weapon based on technology his troops found on another out of the way planet. Having to shut these guys down one by one got a little tiresome, but the fight would rage on and on and on until finally something gave. 

So, as soon as the Tok'ra operative sent back word, SG1 would be infiltrating Bahl's camp. Of course, if old glow eyes happened to be around, there wouldn't actually be any infiltration - he'd know Jack on sight. And that almost got SG4 assigned to the mission, but he'd fought against that. His team was the point team and that's all there was to it. More importantly, though, Jack itched to get his hands wrapped around that prick's neck. 

But, for now, they were in hurry up and wait mode.

The meeting was drawing to a close - Jack had lost track when Sam started going on about artificial gravitational force and knocking planets out of orbit. Jack didn't care about what Bahl was planning to do or the intricacies of the science behind it. He only cared about what he had to do to stop it. Anything else was noise. Jacob clearing his throat had Jack back in the meeting instead of planning a mission not even given the green light yet.

"Yes, Jacob?" Hammond asked and Jack tuned back in.

"Sam tells me you've had some excitement around here the past couple of days."

"Yes, you could say that. The Asgard returned some kidnapped humans to us."

"Guys out of the wild west? That's amazing. Hell, growing up in the 50's, every boy wanted to be a cowboy. It seemed like there was a new Roy Rogers movie out every week and half the shows on TV were cowboy shows."

"I was pretty partial to 'The Rifleman' myself," Hammond said with a smile. 

"Sam says one of them's in bad shape?"

"Major Carter told you?"

Jacob nodded and looked to the members of the SGC before continuing. "It would be a shame to lose him after everything they've been through. Want me to see what I can do?"

General Hammond sighed and looked around the table before answering. "That's a generous offer, Jacob. You know we can't ask for your help every time someone at the SGC is hurt."

"You're not asking and the guy deserves a chance after what the Asgard did to him. Besides, it's not like you're calling me here from halfway across the galaxy to fix Jack's broken finger. I'm here already."

"I thought about trying it, but I was afraid I'd hurt him," Sam said. "I don't know what I'm doing with the healing device."

"You knew he'd offer," Jack said to Sam.

She shrugged, "I thought it might be a good compromise. Besides, dad has a cowboy fetish."

Jack nearly choked when the words fetish, cowboy and dad came out of Sam's mouth. Sometimes, just sometimes, Jack wasn't sure if she was that clueless or was taking them all for a ride. 

He was going to go with clueless - it was less painful that way. 

"Colonel," Hammond said, "why don't you bring Jacob down to the infirmary. I'll call you if any new information comes in from the Tok'ra."


	13. 13

*****  
Chris sat back and put his feet up on the lower bed rail, crossing his arms over his belly. He'd just had breakfast - that Daniel fellow brought it to him and he'd choked it down thinking about breakfasts he'd shared with Vin That Daniel guy was starting to grow on him, he had to admit that. He didn't pressure him and he brought messages back and forth from the rest of the guys. He also made a great cup of coffee - his own private stock, he'd confided.

He studied Vin for a minute, considering. "You only been sick like this once before Vin. And I spent the whole week in the saloon." And at night when the saloon closed, he'd brought a bottle to his room. Not actually thinking about losing his partner was the only way he knew to deal with the possibility.

This time, his choices were to sit in a room with the rest of the peacekeepers - which he knew he couldn't do sober - or sit here and watch Vin die - or not die. No one knew.

He didn't know how he was holding himself together - didn't want to think on it too much or maybe he'd lose whatever it was that kept him going.

"Got a lot to see here, Vin. Last time I saw the guys, they were going on about ice cream and how easy it was to get. JD says you'd really like it. I haven't felt much like eating or I'd tell you about it myself."

Vin's eyes opened and Chris sat watching him. His eyes were just slits and gummy at the corners. The nurses were letting Chris take care of Vin's needs. Chris promised Vin he'd keep them away and he took it seriously. He'd never been one to play nursemaid, didn't like it now. All it did was remind him how sick Vin was.

He reached out one hand and grabbed Vin's hand - it seemed to help anchor him through the worst of the spells. Vin started mumbling and thrashing and Chris' heart nearly broke for him. He wasn't in the here and now, not even the here and now it should have been. Shit, he was tired.

The door opened and Chris didn't bother looking up. One of the machines was probably summoning a doctor or nurse. It seemed like there were so many of them - another strange thing. Hell, this many doctors and nurses couldn't be found within five hundred miles of Four Corners. Either this was an important military base or people got hurt a lot around here.

Someone was standing next to him and he looked up. Already, in just three days, he'd lost the impulse to guard against every person who came too close. Hell, nothing was going to happen here, of that he was sure. Well, nothing but maybe the worst thing that *could* happen.

"Hi," Daniel said with a little wave.

Chris nodded to him and went to watching Vin again. Vin mumbled in his sleep, louder than he had been and Chris whispered, "Easy."

He looked up at Daniel and squinted against the light. "Something I need to know about?"

Daniel was watching Vin, head cocked to the side, listening to his rambling. "What?" Daniel asked, shaking his head a little. "Oh, I'm sorry. We've come up with something that might help and won't require surgery."

Chris considered for a minute. Whatever Daniel was offering, he seemed pretty confident about it. Vin thrashed and called out again and Chris stood to get a little closer. He grabbed Vin's free arm, kept him from flailing it around. His arm without the contraption hooked to it was secured to the bed again to keep him from pulling out the medicine. He started rambling again and Chris didn't know what to do. He was used to the bouts of delirium, Vin was somewhere else during the fits and there wasn't anything Chris could do about it.

Daniel shifted closer and Chris looked at him. He had his head cocked to the side again and his eyes were all squinty. "You were saying?" Chris tried to prompt him.

"Sam's father is visiting and he might be able to help. Jacob and Jack had to stop and get something, then they'll come here and Jacob will explain what they want to try."

Daniel looked excited and Chris' stomach flipped. Hope? He'd felt that this morning, too, when the doctor came in talking about blood and white things and spouting numbers. She thought the infection might be losing and Vin winning, but she'd sunk his hopes as quickly as she'd buoyed them with talk of it being too soon to know for sure.

Vin's disjointed ramblings were louder, of that, Chris was sure. Louder meant stronger, but they also meant Vin definitely was out of his head with fever. 

"What language is that?"

Chris shrugged. What the hell did it matter. "Not sure."

"Do you have any idea? I've never heard it before."

"Probably Kiowa. Maybe Comanche. He lived with both of them and his grandfather was half Comanche."

"Wow," Daniel said, hurrying over to the nurses station and rummaging around for a pen. "Both languages are almost dead. Native Americans are trying to reconstruct their languages but so much has been lost."

"Dead? What happened to the tribes?"

Daniel looked away for a minute before looking back and meeting Chris' eyes. "Their way of life is gone and most of their culture. Most live in poverty on reservations."

Chris glanced at Vin, glad he hadn't heard that, at least. He'd tell him later. If they got a later.

"Do you think Vin would teach me what he knows?"

Daniel's certainty that Vin would be around to teach him piqued Chris' interest. Daniel hadn't committed himself one way or the other until now. He'd remained neutral and silent, bringing food and talking softly - keeping Chris' mind busy. But now he was talking like Vin would be around to teach him languages. "What does O'Neill want to try?"

"Jacob used to be part of the Air Force, a general actually, but he retired and is working somewhere else now. He came here for a visit. He has access to... uhm... technology that we don't have and don't know how to use."

"And?" Chris asked.

"It should heal him."

"Heal?" 

"Chris, I don't want to make any promises, but it should heal him completely. When they come in here, you should let them do what they need to."

"There isn't any danger?"

"No," Daniel shook his head, emphatically. "None at all. Even if it doesn't work, it won't hurt him or make him any worse."

"You sure about that?"

"Definitely," Daniel said, a lot louder than he usually talked.

Chris believed him. Wanted to believe. Did believe. Hell, if they could take his blood and put it in Vin's body. If they could build this huge complex underground, if they could do everything Chris'd seen over the past few days, who was he to say they couldn't fix what was wrong with Vin without cutting him open.

More importantly, Daniel had done nothing but been open and honest and he really seemed to care about what happened to Vin. Chris had dismissed Daniel at first, likening him to some easterner with too much book learning and too little life living, but he'd changed that notion pretty quick after observing him for a time.

Vin started thrashing again and Chris tugged on his hand, keeping him from rolling onto his back. He propped him back up against that long pillow thing and pushed his hair back. He was about to ask Daniel another question when Doctor Fraiser, Jack and a fellow Chris hadn't seen before came into the room.

"Larabee," Jack nodded. "This is Jacob Carter," he said as he nodded to the other man.

"Daniel says you have something that might make him better?"

"This should do the trick," Carter answered. He held out his free hand and took Chris' in a firm handshake. "And all I want in return is some stories about the wild west."

Funny, the guy knew Chris was wondering what all this would cost. Unless put there through politics, Chris was well aware a man didn't make General through being an idiot. No matter what he thought of their situation, none of these people showed anything but competence and professionalism. And if the guy really wanted stories, all Chris had to do was introduce him to Ezra and Buck. Chris almost smiled.

Chris shook Jacob's hand and nodded to him. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Let's get him onto his back and we'll go from there, all right?"

Chris nodded and helped to settle Vin, then took a step back, letting Jacob take Chris' normal position. Fraiser stood next to the monitors, a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Hell, it was the first time he'd seen her smile since that first night. Chris' belly flipped in anticipation again and he leaned forward a little to get a closer look.

Carter had something in his hand. Small and metal, looked to be. He didn't waste any time, putting it over Vin, right where the worst wound was. The air seemed to shimmer around the thing and it made a humming noise almost too low to be heard. A yellow light shot out of it and Chris flinched. 

Chris watched, not actually sure anything was happening with that light. Vin didn't look any better, but he wasn't thrashing and mumbling any more. Fraiser, O'Neill and Jackson all watched as Jacob Carter continued running that little thing back and forth about a foot over Vin's belly. 

He was itching to ask what was going on, but from what he could tell, nothing was actually happening. The light was spooky and Carter concentrated, off in another world as he did whatever it was he was doing.

Ten silent minutes later and it was over. The light stopped, the noise was gone and Carter looked drained. He dropped his hand and said, "That should do it. Doctor?"

Frasier stepped closer and pulled down the sheet covering Vin and pulled up the backless nightshirt. "These staples need to come out. I'll give him a local to do it. I didn't want to take them out before, just in case it didn't work."

"Oh ye of little faith," Carter said as he stepped back. Chris watched him, a little leery of what was happening but when Carter nodded and motioned him closer, he finally got a look at Vin's belly.

The wound was gone - the metal bits were biting into soft, unmarred belly and Chris nearly dropped where he stood. Jack grabbed him by the arm, holding him up.

"Kind of felt that way myself, first time I saw that," Jack told him. "He'll be on his feet in no time," Jack said as he guided Chris to the chair. "We'll leave you with the doc, now."

Chris grabbed Vin's hand just as he let out a moan, easing him into consciousness. "Stay still, Vin, almost done." Chris managed to get out. Hell, what in the world just happened?

Frasier approached with a huge needle just as Vin's eyes opened, and he came up swinging. But his arm was still strapped to the bed and Daniel grabbed the other arm. "Easy," Daniel said softly. "Dr. Fraiser needs to finish one more thing and then it's all over."

Chris let Daniel handle it - he was speechless. He couldn't do anything but hold onto Vin's forearm and watch as she pried those bits of metal out of Vin. 

"Done," she said as she peeled off her gloves. "He had stitches in his back, but they've dissolved."

"What now?" Chris asked, still too stunned for words.

"Now you let him rest and in a few hours, he'll be good as new. He'll be tired, but other than that, he shouldn't have any ill effects from this."

Chris looked around the room, searching for what, he didn't know. He met Daniel's eyes and Daniel averted his gaze. He looked to Jack, but O'Neill was halfway out the door with Carter and then Chris had nowhere else to look but Vin.

And Vin's eyes were open, watching him. Calculating, figuring. Chris scrubbed at his face hard and Vin scrambled to release his secured arm, reaching out to Chris as soon as he was free.

"Larabee!" Vin's voice was strong with no hint of any illness. 

"Larabee? You all right? You're as white as a fresh washed sheet! If you wasn't already sitting down, I'd push you down."

Chris managed to raise his head to look at Vin and he couldn't stop the grin from spreading. Magic, machines, the future... Chris didn't care what it was that made this miracle. Only, now he believed everything he'd been told over the past three days.

They were 125 years in the future, being held prisoner on a military base with no clue what the future would hold. But now, Vin was alive, Buck, JD, Josiah, Nathan, and Ezra were all here. They'd lost everything else, but at least they had that. Hell, they'd faced worse odds. He shook off his thoughts and gripped Vin's hand.

"You back with me, here, Chris?" Vin asked, sitting up higher.

"I'm not the one was out of his head for days, Vin."

Vin's face scrunched up and he looked down at himself. "Days?" He wiped at the tiny spots of blood welling up from the holes those bits of metal left in his skin, then realized how exposed he was with only a thin sheet covering him. "Aw, hell," he groaned, flopping back in the bed. "Don't tell me another hun'red years have passed. You tell me that and I'll cold cock you, you hear me?"

"Only seemed that way, Vin."

Vin started fidgeting with the needles leading into his hand and Chris reached out and grabbed his hand. "Leave it alone, Vin. Someone will take it out soon."

"What the hell happened? Fuck, Chris," Vin said, as he shifted in the bed. "You let 'em put that tube back in my dick, you bastard!"

Chris couldn't help it, he started laughing, a laugh that started somewhere deep inside and rumbled through his whole body, spilling out of him in wave after wave. He didn't get control of himself, Vin was likely to slap him across the face like he was some histrionic woman. Hell, Vin looked like he was ready to slap him across the face, anyhow.

Vin's eyes narrowed, his lips pursed, and he flexed his muscles and all Chris could do was hold up his hands, barely able to see from the tears streaming down his face. Hell, he'd never laughed so hard his eyes watered before. 

Vin was blurry and a mess. His hair stood on end, sweat making it stick up all over the place. He was stubbled again, but he wasn't pasty white any more. He was, in fact, bright red and he'd pulled the sheet up to his neck. 

"Damn, Vin, you sure are a sight," Chris managed to say once he'd finally stopped laughing.

"I may not be lookin too purty right now, Larabee, but I'd be willing to put up my wages that I look a sight better than you!"

"Hell, you're the best thing I've seen in nearly a week, Vin."

"You done having your fit and you gonna tell me what I missed?"

Chris held up his hand, indicating for Vin to wait. As soon as the nurses were finished pulling all the tubes and needles out of him and once they'd disconnected him from all those contraptions, Chris leaned forward, wiping his eyes and concentrating on meeting Vin's version of the glare. 

"Well, Vin, it's like this..."


	14. 14

*****

"Stay still," Chris scolded, pushing down on Vin's shoulder.

"You're pullin' my hair," Vin growled, turning his head to the side to add a glare just to show he meant business.

"Well if you didn't just fall on your ass, I'd let you do it yourself."

"Hell, the floor in the shower thing was slippery. Only fell cause of that. I can brush my own hair."

Chris dropped both hands to Vin's shoulders and rubbed them lightly, leaning in to whisper, "Let me do it, please?" 

When Vin gave a short nod, Chris went back to combing through Vin's wet hair. Soon as he'd explained to Vin what happened while he was out, Vin wanted out of the bed and out of the infirmary. He wouldn't look at anyone and he did no more than grunt at Chris. Chris had had about enough until Vin actually met his eyes. It nearly took his breath away, the fear reaching down deep into Vin and Chris backed off.

He asked for Daniel and easy as he could snap his fingers, Daniel was hunting up clothes for Vin and making arrangements for the two of them to join the rest of the seven. 

"You sure you feel all right?" Chris asked softly.

"Just tired," Vin answered, "want to go sleep for a few days. Anywhere but this room."

"The boys sure are going to be happy to see you. They all came to see you, but you were out of your head."

"Thanks for reminding me," Vin huffed out.

He didn't want to argue - Vin didn't either, Chris knew. They were both tired and out of sorts - something they were used to dealing with now and then, spending so much time together as they did. Normally, when they both got prickly, they shut their mouths and did the things that needed doing. Chris decided to go with what worked and went over to sit in the chair it had seemed he spent so much time in, recently.

If Vin wanted help getting dressed, he'd ask for it. Maybe not in words, but they didn't really need words anyway. Right now, what he was reading from Vin was shock, uncertainty and not just a little worry. To anyone else watching, all they'd see is tired.

Chris wondered what Vin was reading from him - didn't want to know because for now, all he was going to do was get his men back together and sleep like the dead. Something he couldn't do when he was watching he and Vin's backs without any kind of backup.

Daniel stuck his head in the door and called out, "Are you ready?"

Chris nodded and went to help Vin stand, just in case he needed it. He didn't. Standing next to him, he whispered, "Some strange stuff out there. Let's get back to the boys and make a plan, okay?"

Vin nodded to him and Chris let Vin walk ahead and out the door.

Soon as the door opened into the bunkhouse, JD was rushing at them like some puppy hadn't seen his people in days. He even sorta bounced around like a puppy too.

"Hey, JD," Vin greeted.

Chris headed to the lower bunk nearest the door, against the wall and threw his and Vin's saddlebags down onto it.

"Guess I'm moving up top," Buck called out as soon as he saw what Chris did. "Good to see you boys again. Was starting to get a mite worried."

Chris reached out to shake Buck's hand, but Buck grabbed him in a bear hug instead. 

"Just wait until we fill you boys in," Buck boomed out as he let Chris go and advanced on Vin.

Vin held up his hands, keeping Buck and his hugs at bay. "Good to see you boys, too," Vin said softly.

"Mr. Tanner," Ezra called from the table, tilting his head toward Vin. "I trust you are well?"

"Just fine, Ez."

Josiah at least had the sense to keep back, Chris noticed, watching him greet Vin from a distance. 

"Where's Nathan?" Chris asked.

"He's in the bathroom, Chris. Vin, Vin?" JD shouted, trying to get Vin's attention over the bustle of the reunion.

It only took Vin turning in his direction for JD to start up. "Wait till you see some of this stuff! We've been real worried about you, Vin. It's good to have you back. We haven't seen Chris in days and all anyone would say is that you were still alive." JD turned to Chris, focusing all that energy onto him. "What are we going to do now, Chris? How are we going to get home."

Couldn't the kid have given him a few minutes peace? He knew he wasn't being fair - while he was busy, the rest of them had nothing to do but sit around in this room and wonder.

"JD, we can't go home," Chris said. No point in sidestepping the issue. "Home doesn't exist anymore."

JD looked from each of the older men to the other, his face scrunched in confusion. "You don't believe this future talk, do you, Chris?"

Chris nodded to JD and shuffled over to the bunk he was planning on sleeping in. "I do," was all he said.

Vin turned and faced the door, his back to the rest of them. So softly he almost couldn't be heard, he said, "I'm sorry for gettin' y'all into this. If you hadn't of come after me, none of this would've happened." He turned around and met each of their eyes and Chris wanted to hold onto him, wanted to comfort him, but that wasn't going to happen. No matter what any of them said, Vin would carry the burden that this had happened while they were going after him.

The rest of them knew it too, from the silence that greeted his apology.

"Hell, Vin," Chris finally said. "Can we not do this now?"

"Ain't your fault, Vin," Buck said, finally moving in for that bear hug. "If we didn't end up here, you'd be dead and I'm not sorry for that."

Chris wondered if Buck would feel the same way once it sunk into his thick head all they'd lost. But this wasn't Vin's fault any more than it was Vin's fault the sun rose and set each day. Some things happened just because. It'd taken a lifetime for Chris to learn that lesson. A lifetime and one Vin Tanner.

"I'm dead on my feet, let's get some shut-eye, Vin."

Vin looked around the room, then back at Chris. "Only six bunks."

"Share with me, then." Chris said as he laid down.

Vin shrugged and moved to join him and Chris called out to the rest of the men, "We'll plan just what we're going to do after we've had some sleep."

"How long do you want to sleep, Chris?" Josiah asked.

"I think two days or so would do it," Chris answered, only half kidding. He pressed himself against the wall and lifted the blankets so Vin could crawl in with him. 

"Who's up for cards?" Chris heard from Buck as he closed his eyes. If all they had to do was play cards, *that* was going to get tired mighty quick. He pulled Vin tight up against him and shut everything else out. Hell, Vin was already sound asleep and Chris planned on joining him, Buck hollering or no.


	15. 15

*****  
“Come ON,” Jack yelled behind him as he darted out of range of the staff weapon fire. “Damn it, Daniel, let’s go!” he yelled. He risked a glance back and outlined by the burning fortress, Daniel Jackson was staggering under the weight of a large canvas bag. “Drop it and move your ass,” Jack shouted over the whine of weapon fire.

“Jack!” Daniel shouted, staring ahead of where Jack was running.

He spun around to see what put that look on Daniel’s face and ran almost ran right into a native coming at him with a knife. Jack moved to the side, feinting right, then left and managed to not get himself skewered. Too close in to use the staff weapon he'd taken from a dead Jaffa and before he could get his gun out of his holster, the man slashed at him, leaving his arm stinging and unable to grab for his gun. He ran into the guy head first, knocking him to the ground. 

Before he could get on his feet, Daniel was there, holding his Baretta at the guy’s temple.

Jack got to his feet and nodded, “Owe you one,” he said as he ducked, the Jaffa behind them still on their asses.

“Right,” Daniel said, a huge smile on his face. “I think we’ve stopped counting by this point.”

Jack hated to do it, but he swung his gun at the guy’s head, knocking him out. Hitting someone hard enough to knock them out but not kill them or scramble their brains was a risky move at best, but with a squad of Bahl’s men on their asses, he didn’t have a choice.

“Where are you going?” Jack yelled as Daniel headed back the way they came.

“To get the bag,” Daniel called back.

“Carter and Teal’c have the gate open, let’s go!” 

Daniel hefted the bag over his shoulder and Jack covered him, waiting for him before dashing the last 150 yards to the gate. Jack reached for the bag as Daniel moved alongside him, but Daniel shrugged him away and they ran the distance together, Carter and Teal’c laying down cover fire for them.

Jack jumped up the steps leading to the gate and waited for Daniel to go through before jumping into the wormhole. He tumbled into the gate room, sure they started closing the iris before he was completely through for it to close so fast behind him. A couple of thumps signaled Jaffa hitting the now closed iris and he didn’t look back.

He checked each of his team before looking down the ramp - everyone looked fine and there was one less weapon to worry about in the universe. A successful mission, if a long, dirty, annoying, and tiring one. But weren’t they all? The price of saving the universe on a regular basis. Jack almost started laughing at himself, but the burning in his arm was really starting to get to him.

“You all right?” Daniel asked and he looked up to see a welcome party at the end of the ramp.

“Few stitches will take care of it."

“Colonel?”

“MacKenzie?” Jack managed to answer, not even trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone.

“Finally,” MacKenzie went on. “General Hammond’s been gone for a week and I haven’t been able to pin anyone else down. Each request was met with almost insubordination.”

Jack was just tired enough to almost say, ‘that’s because they all think you’re an idiot and an asswipe,' but he wasn't quite that tired. Two weeks on a stinking hot, humid mudhole of a planet with hundreds of Jaffa trying to kill you kind of wore a guy down.

"What requests?" Jack asked as Fraiser applied a pressure bandage to his bleeding arm. Marines were milling around his team, medics were trying to corral them and the noise was getting to him. Couldn't this wait?

"The men we're holding... "

Shit, he'd forgotten about them sometime in the past week. Sometime between Teal'c and Daniel getting separated from he and Carter for a day, and then getting captured. At least they were all together again - though not the way he'd planned. But, once they were all in the same cell, at least they were together. All's well that ends well, Jack sing-songed inside his head. 

"Ouch!" Jack pulled his arm away from Fraiser and looked from her to MacKenzie - the pinched-faced rat looked like he was expecting something and Janet looked like she had a stick up her ass. Great. Saving the universe, again, wasn't enough. 

"The men?" MacKenzie prompted.

"Colonel O'Neill has a date with me right now, you can talk to him when we're though," Fraiser practically spit out and Jack knew he was going to get an earful as soon as they were in the infirmary. He didn't need to hear it. He knew without hearing the story who was being reasonable and who wasn't, but maybe he wasn't being fair. His history with MacKenzie wasn't exactly a clean slate at this point. 

Daniel moved to stand next to him, arms crossed over his chest, the now forgotten bag at his feet. "Colonel O'Neill needs medical treatment," Daniel hissed out. 

If his history with MacKenzie wasn't a clean slate, then Daniel's was an encyclopedia. He let Daniel guide him past MacKenzie and headed to the infirmary.

Hell, sitting down was going to feel good to his tired and aching body. Was it only two weeks ago that he'd had a week off? Felt like a year - maybe even a leap year.

"Wonder what that was about?" Jack asked, glancing sideways at Daniel. "You forgot your bag," he said when Daniel didn't answer. 

"Someone will bring it to my office." They walked silently for a minute before Daniel said, "MacKenzie's an ass."

"He's our resident expert."

"Yeah, right," Daniel snorted.

Daniel opened the door and let Jack through first, both of them stripping down next to gurneys.

"You hurt?' Jack asked.

"Nothing more than a few bruises and a scratch on my leg, but you know Janet."

Jack stripped down to his briefs and let the tech clean up his arm and draw blood, glancing at Daniel every so often. By the time Fraiser appeared, leading Teal'c and Sam, the medtech had the bleeding stopped.

"Anyone else losing blood?" Janet asked with a smile.

Three no's were quickly uttered and Janet stepped closer to Jack, motioning for him to sit. 

"That doesn't look too bad, Colonel."

"What's going on with MacKenzie?"

Janet jabbed him with a needle and got down to work stitching him up. She worked silently for a few minutes, concentrating on putting in seven nice neat stitches. She finished and peeled off her gloves, tossing them in the biohazard disposal unit and stood to face him, hands on her hips. She heaved out a gusty sigh and said, "Before the General left, he asked MacKenzie for psych workups on our visitors."

"Right, he mentioned that to me before we left. Didn't go well?" 

"That's an understatement."

"How much of an understatement?" Daniel asked.

"Did you happen to notice the split lip?"

Jack shook his head. Weren't psychiatrists supposed to have good people skills? "Let me guess," Jack said, raising his hand in the air to keep Fraiser silent. "Larabee?"

"Tanner," Fraiser said, shaking her head.

Daniel's head shot up. "Tanner?" He arched a brow as he said the name.

"It took three marines to get him off MacKenzie."

"I would have loved to have seen that," Daniel muttered.

"This isn't an emergency, is it?" Jack asked. He could *hear* his nice, soft, warm bed calling to him. And his beer. Maybe the beer was louder, but the bed was a siren song. 

"Sort of, Colonel. I'm sorry, I know how tired you are. You can't leave until the blood work comes back anyway," she added, helpfully.

"Just give me the short version, okay? It's late."

"It's 2:00 in the afternoon, sir," Carter helpfully added from behind a curtain somewhere.

"Well it's late where we just came from," he shot back. 

"And you've been stabbed," Daniel added with a conspiratorial wink. "You need to rest.”

“Yeah, rest,” Jack said. Daniel really did have good ideas, sometimes.

“I’ll tell MacKenzie you’ll see him tomorrow, all right?”

Daniel started pulling his clothes on and Jack nodded to him. There was no love lost between Daniel and the shrink and Jack couldn’t blame Daniel. Jack watched Daniel leave , then flexed his arm a few times. Whatever Fraiser had in that needle, it took the burning and stinging away, leaving a dull ache that wasn’t too bad.

“Colonel?” Fraiser called and he stopped fiddling with the bandage. "MacKenzie’s had them confined to quarters - it’s what we’ve been at loggerheads over. I don’t have the authority to overrule him when it comes to psychiatric diagnosis. I think he’s making things worse.”

“Worse?” Jack asked, confused. Worse than what? Things were going fine when he left.

“They’re getting restless and Larabee’s been quite forcefully asking to see you or General Hammond.”

“Am I done here?” 

“Yes, but you need to stay on the base until your tests come back clean.”

“Gotcha,” Jack said, quite familiar with the routine.

He stepped out of the infirmary and almost ran MacKenzie down. 

“Dr. Jackson suggested I wait until tomorrow, but this can’t wait. Something needs to be done about those men.” MacKenzie drew himself taller but still had to look up to meet Jack in the eye. He thrust some files at Jack and stood waiting for some kind of response.

“I’ll review the files and get back to you,” was all Jack said before heading to hunt down Daniel.

“Fine, I’ve faxed copies of those files to General Hammond at the Pentagon.”

Jack kept walking. Daniel's office - that's where Daniel would be. Jack remembered the promise he made himself when he wasn't sure his team would pull off another miracle and get out of Dodge alive. He would go home and relax and forget about saving the universe until the next mission came up. Okay, so maybe he wasn't saving the universe, but he was saving Earth. Go home. Relax. Time off. Mission Decompression. Only Hammond was out of town and the cowboys were acting up - according to MacKenzie, anyway. Damn, and there was hockey on tonight.

Jack stepped into Daniel's office, not looking where he was going when he saw Daniel accross the room looking over some artifacts. "Anything interesting?" Jack asked. He took a few more steps and tripped over the bag Daniel had been so reluctant to leave behind. He bent down to bring it to Daniel - almost wrenching his back under the weight of it. What the hell was in that thing? And when had Daniel gotten so strong? He'd lugged that bag over two miles while being chased down by Jaffa. Jack gave up trying to move the bag - he didn't especially feel like bending at the knees about now - and moved to sit in Daniel's chair. Daniel raised his index finger in the air without looking up from what he was doing. Universal signal for wait, so Jack took the time to study him - something he'd been doing every now and then since Daniel came back from the dead. Daniel Jackson used another one of his lives - but did the reset button on the nine lives get hit when he'd come back from being ascended? 

When they'd first met, Daniel had been geeky and truthfully, useless, militarily. Hell, the guy needed his ass pulled out of the fire more than anyone Jack had ever met. But now... seven... or was it eight years later, Daniel was buff, strong and capable. Someone Jack would trust with his life. Had done. Would do again. He studied Daniel's broad back for a few minutes, watching the play of muscles under the black t-shirt. Maybe he should start working out with Teal'c, too, if this was the result.

"You okay?" Daniel asked, finally through doing whatever it was he'd been doing. 

"MacKenzie ambushed me outside the infirmary. Since we're both stuck here, I thought maybe you'd help me go through the files."

"Yeah, sure," Daniel said, nodding. "Let me put this away first, though." Daniel hefted the bag and brought it over to one of his many tables and Jack looked away. He could have moved it, if he really wanted to.

"Can I see them?" Daniel asked, hand outstretched.

Jack handed over the files and leaned back in his chair. He watched Daniel read for a minute, sitting up straight again when Daniel's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Have you looked at this?"

"Nope. I came here right from running into MacKenzie."

Daniel threw the files onto his desk and crossed his arms. "This is ridiculous!" he spat out, sparks practically leaping from his eyes.

"It can't be that bad, Daniel."

"He wants to medicate them."

Jack watched Daniel fume for a minute, positive his initial response of 'He's the doctor' wouldn't be met with anything but argument from Daniel. "What for?" Jack finally asked.

"Well," Daniel ground out, "he wants to put Dunne on Prozac for depression and he wants to put Tanner on Xanax to get this - calm him down!"

Jack held back the sigh that was trying to escape. Hockey was on right now. "We've been gone for a couple of weeks, Daniel. And Tanner did attack him."

"Even an idiot can see that Dunne's grieving, not depressed. And if Tanner attacked him, I'm sure he had good reason."

"I don't like MacKenzie, either, Daniel. But the guy's got the creds. It's why we keep him."

"All he wants to do is push drugs on people, Jack!"

Jack scrubbed at his face, wincing when the pain in his arm choose to remind him he'd been cut. "I guess that's what he and Fraiser have been fighting over."

"Among other things," Daniel picked up the folders and started reading again and Jack stared at the things strewn across the tabletops. Funny how nothing had changed over the years, but everything had. Jack picked up a little stone figurine but remembered Daniel's reaction to his touching things before he started juggling it. He put it down and watched Daniel read some more. Before he started molesting Daniel's artifacts again, he said, "Just give me the highlights, okay? I've got a call in to Hammond, but he's in a meeting with SecDef."

Daniel's eyes scanned the pages faster and he flipped through them quickly, pausing on the last page of the report. He threw the folder down and met Jack's eyes, flames ready to come shooting out again. "He met with Jackson, Sanchez, Wilmington, Larabee, and Standish once and with Dunne and Tanner twice. He's basing his conclusions on that."

"And?"

"He concludes that with therapy, Dunne, Jackson, Standish and maybe Wilmington can be reintegrated into society."

"And the others?"

"I quote - 'Larabee would be a menace to modern society and his rigidity would prevent him from integration and adaptation. Sanchez is complex, psychologically, and requires study and possibly commitment. Tanner is feral and dangerous.' Jack, it's all bullshit!"

"Is the situation critical? Can't this wait until the general comes back? They've been here a couple of weeks already - what's a few more days?"

"But that's what Fraiser and MacKenzie have been disagreeing about. MacKenzie's had them confined to quarters and Janet can't change the order without going through you or Hammond."

"Wait a minute - seven guys in that one room for two weeks? I kind of hoped this would be all sorted out by now."

"You thought the Air Force would make up some background for them, give them some cash and send them on their way?"

"Well, no," Jack said, knowing he was getting defensive, but did Daniel really think he was that much of an idiot? "I thought they'd have been moved somewhere else, or something." He waved his hands around as his words trailed off, knowing how lame he sounded even as the words came out of his mouth.

"If MacKenzie gets his way, they'll be moved to a psychiatric hospital, probably for the rest of their lives. We didn't take them back from the Asgard for that, did we? They'd probably be better off dead, if we do that to them."

This time he did sigh. "Daniel, let's hold off on the drama, all right? Why don't we talk to Doc Fraiser, see what she recommends, wait for Hammond to return my call and deal with all this later. I can't make medical decisions, Daniel."

"No, but you're the one who's going to decide whose medical advice to implement. And MacKenzie's a ghoul."

"Aren't you tired, Daniel?"

"Not really." Daniel looked up from the files he was studying and gave Jack the once over. "You can take a nap in my room if you want to. It's quieter and more comfortable than the officers' bunkroom."

"I don't need a nap."

"You've been up for almost three days, Jack. And you lost some blood."

Jack considered Daniel's advice for a minute, then tried to read the why behind the advice. It only took him a second. "And what are you going to be doing while I'm napping like a five year old?" Daniel didn't answer, instead looking at his feet. "Thought so," Jack said. 

"I'm only going to talk to them."

"You got a VCR in your room?" Jack asked, not remembering if they'd brought one in when they set up the room for him.

Daniel nodded and Jack stood, holding back the groan that would convince Daniel he needed that nap.

"Let's watch the tapes of the sessions. You can tell me what we're seeing, then you can try your hand with them. Make sure Fraiser doesn't think it's a mistake, first, though."

"Thanks, Jack."

************************************

Steam rose in the small bathroom, moistening the walls and their skin, droplets beading on every surface. Chris licked a bead from Vin's shoulder, intermingled sweat making it salty. He nipped at Vin's neck, gripping him tighter around his hips when he bucked.

"Come on, Larabee, harder!" Vin groaned and the jolt to Chris' cock was instantaneous. 

He was already so far up Vin's ass he was lifting him off his feet and banging his forehead into the wall with each thrust. He bit down harder and Vin groaned again. Vin kept that up and there would be no harder. Oh God, it felt so good to fuck Vin, he'd been doing it every chance he got for the past week. Vin bucked, dragging Chris' cock almost out and he shoved it home again, putting all of his strength into it. Vin wanted harder, he'd give him harder. 

Vin groaned with every thrust, moving backward when Chris moved forward and Chris gripped his hips even tighter. Hold him back, pull him closer, he didn't know what he was doing. All he knew was it felt so right and it made him forget everything else for a good half hour or so. 

"More... more...," Vin panted and Chris wasn't sure how much more he had to give. Any more and his balls would be in Vin, too. Not that he was complaining. But he had to think about something other than the taste of Vin's sweat or the grunts and groans slipping from him... something other than the ass clamped tight around his cock. Nothing could distract him, though.

"Come on... more... more... more," Vin begged softly, insistent. Vin shoved off the wall, impaling himself, fucking himself on Chris' cock.

"Stop that," Chris growled into his ear. "You want this to be over that quick?" Chris asked, gripping Vin's hips tight, not letting him move. He pushed Vin forward, flat against the wall and pinned him there with his body. He dragged his cock out slowly, teasing, putting a break on things. He adjusted his cock so it nestled in the valley between Vin's cheeks, the head pressing against the back of Vin's balls. He gave a couple of small teasing thrusts and held Vin still, trying to regain control.

Vin laughed a little, the vibrations rumbling from his chest to Chris' and Chris peeled himself off Vin, his cock poised, ready to plough Vin some more.

"Keep up, old man," Vin breathed out, turning his head to try to get a glimpse of Chris. 

Chris held Vin's head in place with one hand and gripped his hip tighter with the other. "You're the one wants this to end quick, seems like," Chris whispered in his ear, then bit the pointy part, hard, making Vin quiver in one long, head to toe shiver. "I ever tell you how much I like your ears?" 

Vin laughed again and shoved his hips back into Chris', begging him to fuck him some more. "What you love..." Chris gave another small push against Vin's balls and Vin groaned long, low and deep. "... is making fun of my ears," Vin huffed out, squirming against Chris' cock.

"What's your hurry, pard?" Chris asked him. He lowered his head and licked the cords straining in Vin's neck and gave a little nip to the pulse point. 

"Ahhhhh..., come on, Chris," Vin begged, squirming some more. "You gonna leave me hangin, here?"

Chris gave one last swipe to Vin's neck, licking his jaw as he released him. "Stay put," Chris whispered as he passed Vin's ear and straightened up. He leaned back a little, considering how to draw things out... how to make this last more than ten minutes. His cock throbbed and he palmed it, holding it down so it wouldn't poke Vin and tempt him into trying to impale himself again. He'd created a monster. He chuckled a little and reached for Vin's hands, raising them higher on the wall, stretching him.

He kicked Vin's feet further apart and almost grabbed his hips and started fucking him again when Vin pushed his ass out, offering it up.

"Stop it," Chris ordered. "You'll like this," he said, softer. He palmed his cock again, tried to hold the throbbing down, push back the need to get so far inside Vin, he'd be coming inside of ten seconds. "Leave your hands on the wall," Chris ordered, harshly enough to let Vin know he meant it.

Chris gripped his hips and pulled him out from the wall a little more, kicking his spread legs even further apart. He pulled a little more, bending Vin at the waist a little and spread his cheeks. His hole glistened from sweat and Chris' juices, pulsing with every heartbeat and Chris gulped in some air. Oh lord, this wasn't working, he was going to come on the spot! He got to his knees and pushed on Vin's lower back, positioning him.

Vin sucked in a deep breath and Chris dove in, tonguing the pulsing hole, lapping up his own taste. Vin shoved back as Chris used his tongue to fuck him. Chris gripped his ass cheeks, tight, squeezing and kneading as he tongue fucked him. He came up for breath and licked Vin, balls to hole, getting so caught up in the taste he couldn't help shifting his head, biting into his firm cheek, hard.

"Ow!" Vin yelped, but stayed where he was. "You hungry?" Vin managed to ask between breaths. 

One of Vin's hands came off the wall and headed for his dick, but Chris slapped his ass and Vin's hand went back to the wall. "Save that for me," Chris ordered and felt Vin shivering again. Couldn't be cold... beads of sweat glistened all over Vin's skin and Chris leaned in to lick a couple of the droplets from the smooth skin of one perfect ass cheek. He spread him wider and went to licking again. He'd get more of that moaning from him, he was sure of that.

"Fuck... fuck... fuck...," Vin chanted and Chris started fucking him with his tongue. He couldn't keep it up, he knew. Not if he wanted to finish inside of Vin. Hell, if he came on the floor instead of fucking Vin some more, Vin would probably beat him half to death. He inhaled Vin's scent and pulled back, quickly replacing his tongue with half his hand. He hooked his fingers, searching, and Vin arched, muffling a scream by biting his upper arm, head twisted to the side so he had something to clamp onto. 

Chris finger fucked him for as long as he could hold out, wanting to be inside him again, knowing he wouldn't last once he got there.

"Come on!" Vin sobbed, "Fuck me, already!"

Chris couldn't help chuckling. Someone's abundance of energy from being cooped up sure was coming in handy. He raised himself up and gripped Vin's hips again, stopping Vin from humping the slick wall. He reached up and placed Vin's hands higher on the wall and kicked his legs wider again. "Stay there," Chris whispered,

He studied him for a minute, reached out and cupped a palmful of his ass, stroked his own cock, readied it to give Vin what he'd been begging for. He felt like king of the world at that minute, Vin spread eagle against the wall, just waiting for Chris to fill him up.

Vin sounded like he was sobbing and Chris squeezed his butt harder, pulling his cheeks apart, exposing his hole to the warm moist air. Only Vin wasn't sobbing, he was chuckling. "Any time now, Cowboy," Vin ordered and Chris lined up his cock. 

"You asked for it," Chris said, voice low and tight. He gripped Vin's hip tighter and popped his dickhead through the stretched out ring. Vin tried shoving backward again, but Chris held him steady. He shifted his hand from his cock to Vin's hip, holding on tight. Vin panted and braced himself against the wall. Something had bothered Chris each time they did this, but he couldn't figure out exactly what. But it hit him then. "You know, Vin..." Chris whispered, caressing the soft skin of Vin's hips.

"I don't need to know anything right now, Cowboy," Vin ground out. 

Chris leaned forward, still poised just inside him, and licked Vin's neck, arching so he could get close enough to kiss him. 

"But your hips are even."

"Any time now, Chris."

"You used to be crooked. Think it has anything to do with what they did to you?"

"Chris," Vin hissed, using the wall for leverage and impaling himself completely. "Yeah, that's it! Move, Chris!"

"So goddamned pushy, Vin." Chris forgot about Vin's even hips and gripped him tighter, grabbing onto him tight as he could, never wanting to let go. He tried to pace himself, tried to give Vin a nice long ride, but knew it wasn't a fair fight. He alternated between long and short strokes, pulling out all the way and driving in with such force, only Vin's hands on the wall kept them from slamming into it hard enough to knock Vin out. 

"More... more... more...," Vin chanted again and Chris gave up trying to drag things out. He plastered himself to Vin's back, wrapping his arms around his middle and used his hips to drive himself as far into Vin as he would go. A few short strokes and he was there, shooting far into Vin. He bucked erratically as his balls emptied, pushing deep as he could and holding still as each jet spurt out of him and into Vin. He buried his face into the back of Vin's neck, panting, breathing in Vin's scent. Small aftershocks shook him every so often and he rocked into Vin as they hit. 

Chris opened his eyes, peering over Vin's shoulder. Vin's cock stood straight up against his belly, the tip swollen and dripping. One of Vin's hands came off the wall and went to it, all set finish himself off and Chris batted it away. "That's mine," Chris whispered into Vin's ear, licking and nipping. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

"Now," Vin nearly shouted and put Chris' hands over his groin, rocking up into Chris' hands. Chris dick, still half hard, slipped out when Vin surged foreward and Chris pulled away.

"What are you doing?" Vin asked, accusing, and Chris half turned so he was the one against the wall, facing out. 

"Just give me a sec, all right?" Chris took big gulps of air, listened to Vin trying to catch his breath too. He reached out blindly, his eyes still squeezed shut tight as his body thrummed, and Vin's hand around his led it to Vin's stiff cock. 

"You looking for this?" Vin asked as Chris took his dick in a loose grip. 

Vin started thrusting into his hand and Chris tightened his grip. "Not like that," Chris said, sliding down the wall. "Hand me that towel," Chris ordered and Vin reached over and grabbed the towel hanging over the low half-wall that separated the shower from the rest of the room. Chris spread it out and sunk down onto it, on his knees.

He pulled Vin forward by his dick and guided it into his mouth, sucking on the tip, lapping up the liquid pooled around his foreskin. He pushed the loose skin back with his tongue and sucked, hard. He smiled around Vin's dick as Vin sucked in a deep breath and held it. 

Chris let it out of his mouth, the popping sound so loud to his ears he wondered if it hurt. The look on Vin's face as Chris peered up at him said maybe it felt so good it hurt. "Like that, huh?" Chris asked, smiling up at Vin.

"Hell, yeah!"

Chris reached out and used Vin's dick as a handle to pull him closer and Vin was pliant in his hands. He felt Vin's hands go to his head and he let Vin position him. Opened his mouth and let Vin fuck his face. Maybe he didn't like getting fucked in the ass, but he sure loved to suck Vin off. And he did it often. More often than he fucked Vin, but then again, he did have almost fifteen years on him. He let Vin fuck his mouth any way Vin wanted. Let Vin set the pace, let him decide how deep to go. All he had to do was work his lips and jaws, let his hands roam...

He pushed three fingers inside Vin, nearly choking when Vin surged forward deeper into his mouth, but he'd been ready for that move. He let Vin fuck himself on his hand, in his mouth, knowing from experience how worked up Vin got when they did this. It didn't take long and Vin shot his load into his mouth and he swallowed around Vin's dick, trying to keep up with the stream. Some leaked out and he let it, trying to get as much as he could. He could never get enough of Vin's taste, of his scent... of any part of him he wanted to give.

Vin leaned forward above him, head against the wall and Chris grabbed hold of his hips, steadying him, leaning into him.

"Damn, Chris, you're good at that," Vin finally caught enough breath to say.

Chris looked up and Vin peered down at him, hand going to the side of Chris' face, his finger wiping away some of the come dripping down the side of his mouth.

Vin held his eyes and licked it off his finger, then reached down and ran his finger across Chris's lips. Chris opened his mouth, let Vin's finger in and sucked on it. Vin shivered hard and dropped to his knees, arms going around Chris.

Chris met him halfway, mouth clamping onto Vin's, tongue invading, demanding entrance and Vin sucked on it, one hand going to the back of Chris' head, pulling him in until Chris had no idea if they were still two people or one. 

Loud banging on the door startled him and he tried to pull back, but Vin wasn't letting him go.

"Chris, Vin! I need to go!"

Vin finally let go of his head and Chris said, "How come JD's always the one needs to get in here?"

"Probably 'cause he's the only one ain't figured out what we're getting up to."

Chris pulled back even further and tried to meet Vin's eyes but Vin was already getting to his feet, turning around and gathering his things.

Chris reached out and tried to spin him around but Vin wasn't cooperating. 

"Let's go before the kid pisses his pants," Vin said with a shrug.

"You mad that they might know?" Chris asked as he stepped into his shorts. He had his pants on and belted before Vin answererd.

"Don't want to talk about it," Vin said, his voice muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head. He didn't look to see if Chris was ready, pulling open the door, not looking back. "JD," Vin said, nodding to the kid. "All yours."

"Jeeze, you two sure were in here a long time," JD said, dancing around. 

Chris bent over and picked up the towel, then gathered he and Vin's shaving kits and dirty clothes. It didn't bother him so much the others knew, he figured most of them had things figured out by now, but it sure seemed to bother Vin. And Vin had been bothered a lot lately. Starting with the incident with the doctor and getting worse each day from there. 

Vin wasn't the only one taking their confinement poorly, Chris noted as he stepped out into their room. Ezra was sitting at the table, eyes narrowed and watching Vin. He turned to Chris and tilted his head, tipping an imaginary hat and smiling ear to ear. Standish was lucky Vin's back was to him, the way Vin was ready to take offense at just about anything these days.

********


	16. 16

*****

"Mr. Tanner, really, must you do that constantly?"

Chris opened his eyes and listened for Vin's response. More likely than not, there wouldn't be one. He'd just keep on jumping. He could hear the rope swishing through the air a few feet from him. But with the blanket hanging down from the top bunk he couldn't see what was going on. He didn't need to. Ezra would be sitting at the table, either playing cards with one of the others, or maybe just sitting there alone - shuffling them endlessly, maybe even playing solitaire. Buck would probably be sitting with him. If he wasn't pestering JD. JD would be either sleeping or just lying there, facing the wall. Josiah and Nathan would be playing chess or talking, either at the table with Ezra or sitting on Josiah's bunk, leaning against the wall, blanket drawn. 

Vin would be swinging that rope through the air, jumping. Chris didn't know if he wanted to strangle Dr. Jackson or thank him. At first, he'd been leaning toward strangling him. But now, once he got used to it, thanks were definitely in order. Before Daniel left, he gave Vin a rope with handles on the ends. Told him it was a jump rope and would help him get his strength back and give him some exercise. For near on two weeks now, Vin spent all of his free time jumping. Endlessly jumping. He'd gotten so good, Chris liked to sit there and watch him. Liked to close his eyes and listen to him, the rythmic swishing and thumping almost mesmerizing. No wonder Vin did it constantly. Chris could tell by watching that once Vin got to jumping, his mind went somewhere else - probably to the desert. Maybe just anywhere but here. For the most part, it kept him calm. Kept his temper on an even keel and Chris liked that. Chris couldn't say that for his own temper. He'd taken to not talking unless absolutely neccessary, completely unable to trust himself. After seeing how that constant jumping kept Vin from getting too prickly, Chris thought maybe he should give it a try, too.

Chris liked what it did to Vin's body even more. Vin always was in good condition, but now... now his thighs were so strong he could wrap his legs around Chris and Chris couldn't break free. He could bend into all sorts of positions too. Chris' belly flipped a little when he thought of some of those positions, thought about Vin's legs wrapped around his waist as he pounded into him. Vin's body was now solid muscle. His flat stomach defined by hard muscle, his back and shoulders a little wider, a lot stronger.

Chris could feel his own body softening after two weeks of confinement. The lot of them were turning into old men sitting around doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. Chris and Vin both, at least, were getting some exercise. He sat up and thought about pulling back the blanket, keeping an eye on things between Ezra and Vin, but with the way he'd taken to snapping at everyone, Chris didn't think he was the best choice for peacekeeper at the moment. Besides, Ezra like baiting them. If he riled Vin up too much, he'd just have to take care of himself.

"Mr. Tanner!" 

Ezra's shout had Chris pulling back the blanket curtain but it didn't stop Vin's jumping. The rope was almost a blur as Vin sped up even faster, obviously trying to annoy Ezra.

Ezra dropped his cards to the table and leaned back, a crooked smile on his face, showing off his gold tooth. "Are you looking for an excuse for another shower, Mr. Tanner?"

"Ezra," Chris warned. He could see where this was headed and he didn't like it one bit. Ezra turned to face him and Chris knew Ezra was spoiling for a fight. Could see it in his eyes. 

"But Mr. Larabee, I've never seen Mr. Tanner so immaculate before. It is rather becoming. He's working up quite a sweat, however, and will surely be needing your assistance with the plumbing soon. Though I would think Mr. Tanner has figured out how to work the pipes by now."

"Ezra," Chris warned. But Ezra's smile told him a warning wouldn't quite stop things from escalating. Chris looked around the room and was met by four sets of eyes. They'd held off fighting with each other, but just barely. Things were going to come to a head and Chris wasn't sure if he wanted to start swinging at the men who were annoying him endlessly or save his aggression and his ire for the people putting them in this situation.

"I would think your earlier shower should have worn out Mr. Tanner. The heat, the condensation, the sweat. It can be quite draining, if I remember. Steam baths. Ahh, just the thing when one is unable to sleep. Perhaps another session is in order?"

Vin swung the rope faster and Chris clenched his fists. He knew what Ezra was saying - he just wasn't sure whether Vin knew or not. Wasn't sure Vin was even hearing the words.

"You can shut up now, Ezra," Chris said softly. 

"But I am interminably bored, Mr. Larabee. And Mr. Tanner's constant jumping is setting my nerves on edge. I don't think I can stand that sound for another moment. Perhaps I should put it more bluntly." Ezra met Chris' eyes, his mouth curved up at the corners, giving him an almost feral look. Ezra looked around the room at the others, then back to Vin, then met Chris' eyes again. "Mr. Larabee, please take Mr. Tanner into the bathroom and fuck him into unconsciousness, if you will." 

Four sharp intakes of air, but no one would meet Chris' eyes. At least Vin stopped jumping. 

"What did you just say?" Chris managed to ask.

"Oh, come now, Mr. Larabee. Surely you don't think we are all so stupid as to not know of your... proclivities."

"Ezra, if you know what's good for you, you'll go sit on your bunk and not say another word."

"Sending me to my room, Mr. Larabee? Surely you didn't think you and Mr. Tanner were being subtle. Why, I could practically see Mr. Tanner's handprints on the wall, earlier."

Chris caught movement in his peripheral vision. Vin was moving closer, slowly. If Ezra was spoiling for a fight, it sure looked like he was about to get one. Maybe two.

Ezra looked Vin up and down, still smiling. He turned back to Chris, but didn't turn his back on Vin. Ezra might be looking for a fight, but he wasn't stupid. "Ah, at least that horrendously annoying activity has ceased. Perhaps Mr Tanner has worn himself out without your help. Too bad. I for one, am quite pleased when this room has two fewer occupants. Maybe later?" Ezra's hands went back to his cards, but Vin was there before Chris could get between them. 

Vin snatched the deck of cards off the table and turned them over in his hands. He didn't say anything, just stood staring at Ezra.

"Please, Mr. Tanner, no matter your initial intentions, you do indeed need to bathe once again." Ezra gave Vin the once over and Chris was struck by a stray thought. 

"You jealous, Ezra? You want to be the one with your hands against the wall?"

"Oh please, Mr. Larabee, if I were in fact jealous, I would prefer to be replacing you, not Mr. Tanner."

Chris was on his feet without thinking about it, ready to take out some of his anger on Ezra. It was awfully nice of Ezra to give him an excuse, but Vin had his hand in the air, waving him off. He didn't sit back down, but he didn't move closer, either.

"Ezra," Vin said softly, "you don't shut your mouth right now, it's going to mighty uncomfortable round here from here on out."

"Ah, Mr. Tanner. But don't you agree it is patently unfair that only Mr. Larabee has someone on hand to fuck? The rest of us surely could use the distraction as well."

"Ezra," JD said from across the room, "please don't start a fight."

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Mr. Dunne? Or maybe sobbing into your pillow?"

"Leave him alone, Ezra," Buck nearly shouted. "You've been doing nothing but causing trouble for the past three days. And what they get up to ain't any of your business!"

"But Mr. Wilmigton, as our resident gossip monger, I would have thought you'd enjoy this little clearing of the air. I'm only trying to point out how none of us are blind, deaf or stupid. That's something the two of them might want to remember."

Vin started moving closer to Ezra and Chris didn't much feel like interfering. Vin would actually stop before killing Ezra, but Chris couldn't say the same for himself. Hell, he was so wound up, he wouldn't stop until he broke his hands on Ezra's face. 

Nathan came from nowhere and got between Vin and Ezra, hands up, facing Vin. "Vin, he deserves a beating about now, I agree. But he's not in his right mind. None of us are. We're all on edge, cooped up in here with no one to talk to but each other and we all know how much Ezra needs his privacy."

"Yes, needs, Mr. Jackson, that is what we were discussing. I for one am quite tired of only Mr. Larabee and Tanner getting their needs met."

"Ezra, you fool, I'm trying to save your hide here!"

"My hide doesn't need saving, Mr. Jackson. Our sweet little Berdache - that is what your indian brothers call men like you, isn't it, Mr. Tanner? - wouldn't want to get in trouble for fighting again. What was that Doctor's warning? Oh yes, if he fights again, he'll be locked in that cell permanently."

"That's it!" Vin roared and was darting past Nathan, grabbing for Ezra.

***********

"Jack? Hey, Jack!"

He rolled over slowly, the throbbing in his arm still persistent enough to keep him from moving too fast. "Huh?"

"I've been watching the session tapes and there are a few things you need to see."

"Right. The cowboys." Jack sat up, wrapping himself in the blanket someone had thrown over him. He didn't bother stifling the yawn that overtook him, scrubbing at his eyes to clear them from the remnants of sleep. Daniel sat at the end of the bed, smiling at him and Jack wondered if Daniel was laughing at his hair. No matter how short he kept it, he always ended up with bed head. Right, the cowboys. Like he didn't have enough to worry about.

Daniel jumped off the end of the bed and knelt in front of the TV, flipping through tapes until he found the one he wanted, then popped it into the machine. He climbed back onto the bed and stretched out on his belly, pointing the remote at the VCR. He looked over his shoulder at Jack and gave a little smirk. "I think you'll appreciate this one. I know I did." 

MacKenzie sat at his desk and Larabee stood just inside the door, staring at MacKenzie. MacKenzie said, "Come in and have a seat Mr. Larabee."

Larabee remained in the doorway, looking at the doctor, but not moving. After the first thirty seconds, Jack started marking the time.

A minute and a half in and Jack asked, "Do we need to sit through this part?" 

"It builds the tension. You won't get the full effect unless you sit through it. I promise, it's worth it."

Four minutes and still, no words had been exchanged. Larabee faded in and out of the picture as he stalked MacKenzie's office. When he was in the frame, he picked things up without permission, studied the diplomas on the walls, read the book titles. He obviously found one he liked because he picked it up and rifled through it. Still, no words were exchanged.

"Interesting technique," Jack offered, looking to Daniel. Daniel's eyes were plastered to the screen though, and he nodded without looking at Jack. 

Five minutes and forty five seconds later, by Jack's watch, and Larabee approached MacKenzie, not taking the chair, but lowering himself onto the corner of the desk MacKenzie sat behind.

Daniel hit pause on the remote and sat up on the bed, legs crossed. He looked over his shoulder at Jack. "You see how he took over the room? MacKenzie looks like he's about to have a cow!"

"I think you're liking this a little too much, Daniel. You holding a little grudge, there?"

Daniel dismissed the question entirely, just barrelled ahead. "All he wants to do is pump people full of drugs. It's not the answer. Life can't be solved by a little pill, Jack."

"MacKenzie's the best there is, Daniel, and you know it."

"Sure, if I have a head injury. He has no clue about what makes people tick."

"Daniel."

"I know, I know, Jack. But he's a neuropsychiatrist; he has no business poking around in people's psyches. Because he's a mechanic, he uses too many drugs when the problem can't be solved by drugs."

"At least you're being fair."

"I *am* being fair, Jack."

"Play the tape, Daniel," Jack told him, understanding that the issue of medication had Daniel's skivvies in a bunch, and needing to see for himself if that bunch was justified this time.

"Why am I here?" Larabee asked.

"This is a standard psychological evaluation to determine your placement."

"What placement?"

"We must decide what to do with you and your men."

Larabee snorted and leaned forward a little more. "What gives you that right?"

MacKenzie didn't answer him, instead handed him a clipboard. "Please fill out that questionaire."

Larabee took it from him, gave it a cursory glance and dropped it on the desk. "No."

The men stared at each other for another full minute, Jack checked his watch, and MacKenzie broke first. He looked away from Larabee, then set to jotting down notes.

"The information we have on you says you were a peacekeeper. Is that like a police officer?"

"It means someone who keeps the peace."

"Ahem... right." MacKenzie jotted down more notes and Larabee kept staring at him.

"All right then, it says here that you were a gunfighter."

Larabee kept staring.

"You were married?"

Larabee's eyes narrowed and MacKenzie broke eye contact again.

"Let's try another topic. While Mr. Tanner was in the infirmary, it became apparent the two of you are close."

"Leave Vin out of this."

"I'm trying to get a feel for the type of man you are and the best course for your future."

"Like I already asked, what gives you that right?"

MacKenzie didn't answer, just wrote more notes. The silence stretched through minutes and Larabee grabbed the notepad from under MacKenzie's pencil.

"I'm not illiterate," Larabee said after flipping through the pages. "And I'm not a hired gun."

MacKenzie made no move to take his notebook back and Larabee leaned further into his personal space. 

"Looks like you only got one thing right there, doc."

"And what is that?" MacKenzie asked.

"I'm a dangerous man. You keep asking me questions and you might find that out firsthand."

"How many people have you killed, Mr Larabee?"

The silence stretched out again as Larabee stared at MacKenzie. It didn't take long until Larabee's poker face stretched into a smile that was more a sneer. 

"All the ones who needed killing," Larabee finally said. 

Larabee stared at MacKenzie, who sat silently, little beads of sweat beginning to trickle down from his temple. After another minute, Larabee nodded, stood, then walked slowly to the door, banging on it until it opened.

Daniel stopped the tape and turned around, sitting legs crossed indian style, to face Jack. 

"You liked that, huh?" Jack asked.

"You've got to admit it was good," Daniel said, flashing a surprisingly satisfied grin.

Jack rolled his eyes. "So Larabee's a badass. We knew that already."

Daniel's humor vanished, and the indignance returned. "But MacKenzie's basing all of his conclusions on that one interview. And the rest are just as bad. He talked to Standish for over an hour. Standish fed him a line of bullshit so strong, I could smell it through the tape."

"Nice, Daniel."

Daniel shook his head, getting worked up. "Wilmington acted like a clown, Dunne said ten words while MacKenzie talked at him for half an hour and Sanchez spouted religious philosophy and doomsday scenarios. He's basing his conclusions on short interviews and he's not placing them within their culture. His conclusions are flawed because he's judging them by our culture."

Jack sighed, seeing Daniel's point. "And Jackson and Tanner?"

"Jackson was pretty closemouthed and I'll let you see Tanner's interviews yourself."

Jack held up his hand, not up for that one just now. "Not yet. Let me ask you a question, Daniel. Say you were in charge of these guys, how would you play it?"

Daniel didn't hesitate. "First, I'd let them have free access to unrestricted parts of the base. Let them integrate themselves at their own pace. But I'd start by telling them the whole truth."

Knowing Daniel as well he did, Jack was only caught off-guard by that last suggestion. He'd expect Daniel to be sensitive the men's confinement, but he hadn't expected him to propose giving them information they might not be ready to hear. "Interesting approach."

"It's not like we're going to be letting them out into the world any time soon. Treating them with dignity and respect will get the best results," Daniel said, then took a breath that told Jack he was ready to argue more.

"Before you get going again, I agree."

Daniel paused, mouth open, obviously surprised. "You do?"

"We'll have to talk about how to explain it all to them-- and if we'll actually explain it all, but otherwise, yeah. I agree."

"Um. Wow. Okay. Thank you," Daniel said, the beginnings of a smile forming. 

"I'll talk to Hammond about putting you in charge of them, all right? Write up some bullshit about how they need an anthropologist, not a psychiatrist and I'll back you."

Daniel's eyes grew wide. "It's not bullshit."

"I know, Daniel. Poor choice of words," Jack conceded. "How about you give me the short version of Tanner's interviews and I'll watch them myself later, okay?"

Daniel frowned at that. "You really should see it."

Jack shook his head no. He wasn't ready to see what MacKenzie had done to rattle the seemingly unflappable Tanner. "Short version now, whole thing later."

Daniel nodded, and let out an exasperated breath before he began.

"First interview, he gives Tanner a clipboard. Tanner doesn't even look at it. I'm betting he is illiterate. I'm surprised more of them aren't. Education wasn't exactly universal in their time period. Tanner answers his questions at first. Then MacKenzie asks him personal questions. Really personal - like his relationship with Larabee." Daniel raised a brow at Jack.

Jack winced. "He didn't."

"He did. Worse, he tried to nail him down about the wanted poster and hinted that we might send him to jail."

"That's bullshit," Jack said, his jaw clenching.

"No shit. He was trying to intimidate him, Jack, plain and simple."

"I take it it didn't work?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Not in the slightest. He clammed up. End of session. Larabee was next."

"Then Tanner again?" Jack asked, figuring Daniel was getting to the really ugly part.

"Yup. MacKenzie told him he knew Larabee was his lover and that if Larabee forced him into it, we would protect him. He told Tanner that we know Larabee's a killer and no one would blame him for being intimidated."

"Is that when Tanner attacked him?"

"No, but it should have been." Daniel got up and paced at the foot of the bed. "Jack, I don't think you understand. The old west was the ultimate of 'don't ask, don't tell' societies! When MacKenzie brought up their relationship, he crossed a line he had no business crossing."

"So why'd Tanner go after him?" he asked, a little lost now.

"It wasn't one thing," Daniel explained, pausing to cross his arms over his chest, drawing himself into an angry stance. "MacKenzie grilled him for over an hour. He asked him about living with the indians, where he was raised, how old he was when his parents died, asked him about the bounty, about his scars, about Larabee, and on top of that, insinuated he'd been a victim of sexual abuse. In his notes, MacKenzie wrote that he was trying to pressure Tanner into cracking - see how much stress he could take."

Jack snorted a little. "Guess he found out."

"That's one way to put it. But Jack, he drugged Tanner and put him in a cell for forty-eight hours for what he called observation."

Jack's eyebrows climbed his forehead. "So he pushed him into an attack and then punished him for it?"

"That's about the size of it, yeah."

Right then, Jack made a decision, and he had no doubts that Hammond would be okay with it. "He's off their case, Daniel. Right now."

Relief visibly washed over Daniel, and he relaxed. "Thanks, Jack. We need to make this right."

Jack swept his arms out wide, a gesture of gifting Daniel with the whole cowboy gang. "They're all yours from now on, okay?"

"Great! Thanks, Jack. You can sleep here until we're clear. I'm going to go talk to them and apologize for MacKenize."

"Good idea. Anthropolize away, Daniel. Have fun," Jack told him, flopping back to the bed as Daniel practically hopped to the door.

"I'll see you later, Jack," Daniel chuckled on his way out. 

Jack snuggled into the bedding until he was comfortable again, anticipating real, uninterrupted sleep. 

*****

"Aren't you gonna do anything?"

"Nope."

"Vin might really hurt 'em."

Chris couldn't help smiling at Nathan. "If he hurts 'em too bad, well, they got good doctors here. Ezra was the one looking for a fight."

Nathan watched Vin beat up on Ezra some more, glancing sideways and saying softly, "Ezra don't speak for all of us, Chris."

He didn't answer. The hell of it was, he *did* care what these men thought. Wouldn't stop him from doing what he wanted, but he did care, even if he didn't want to. He didn't give a shit about what the people holding them thought, but his friends, yeah he cared. He'd never been a man to look for other people's respect. Not even before his whole world fell apart. Only respect he cared about having was what he had for himself. Others felt he was or wasn't a good man, well, that was their problem, not his.

Vin had Ezra in a head lock, was starting to cut off his air, but Chris wasn't ready to end it just yet. Ezra crossed a line, one that wouldn't be easy to step back from. One he never would have crossed if the bunch of them weren't so stir crazy, they were ready to turn on each other. Only conscious awareness of their own near craziness from their situation had kept them from acting out their frustration. He'd never have bet on Ezra being the first one to lose control. Truth was, he thought he'd be the one to lose it first. The others must have thought so too, if the wide berth they'd taken to giving him was any indication at all.

Ezra stomped on Vin's instep and Vin lost his grip on Ezra's throat. He spun and crouched low, looking for an opening to press an attack.

Ouch - Vin's uppercut to Ezra's jaw had Chris rubbing his own jaw in sympathy. Might have loosened a few teeth with that one. But Vin was too worked up to protect himself - he was lashing out - and Ezra managed a lucky punch. First blood to Ezra - Chris shook his head. Never would have thought that.

"Mr. Tanner," Ezra wheezed out, backing up away from Vin. "This display of masculinity really is unnecessary."

"Mebbe I'm bored too, Ez." 

"We are all bored, V- oomph..." Ezra went flying into the wall and Vin was on him again. 

Josiah and Buck were up and moving and Chris raised his hand in the air. Vin and Ezra needed to work off some steam and Chris was of a mind to let them. Too late, he saw the shadow on his other side. 

So busy watching the fight, he didn't hear anyone come in the room. Before Chris was even off his bunk, Daniel Jackson had his arms around Vin's middle, pulling him off Ezra. 

Vin's arms and legs flailing, Jackson hoisted him in the air and held on tight. 

"Lemme go, Josiah!" Vin yelled.

"Not me, Vin," Josiah stepped into Vin's line of vision, hands raised. 

"Dammit, Let. Me. Go!" Vin yelled.

Ezra stepped forward and grabbed Dr. Jackson's arms, trying to free Vin, and Chris finally got himself up and moving. 

"Enough, Vin. Enough, Ezra." Chris said softly. Wouldn't do for Dr. Jackson to leave their cell beat up. Maybe no one here cared what they did to each other, but last time one of them attacked a staff member, he ended up in a tiny room for two days.

Jackson let Vin go and raised his arms in the air. "I can't believe you all sat there and watched these two beat on each other," Daniel said, turning to Chris.

"Well, son," Buck said, "there ain't much else to do."

"Yes, yes," Daniel said, wrapping his arms around himself. "I actually came here to apologize for that."

"Don't mind us, Dr. Jackson," Ezra said, brushing some imaginary lint off his purple coat. "Mr. Tanner and I were just practicing some hand to hand combat techniques. There is no need to confine him again. It was just a bit of harmless fun, I assure you."

"No one's confining anyone. There's been enough of that, don't you think?" Daniel looked to each of them, Chris last and Chris moved forward to close the gap between them and to get between Vin and Ezra. "Mr. Larabee," Daniel said, "Jack and I have been on an assignment and things have been hectic around here. I want to apologize to you all for keeping you in limbo for so long. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Chris sat at the table and kicked a chair out to Dr. Jackson. "What do you want?"

"Uhm...," Dr. Jackson didn't sit, just wrapped his arms around his middle again and turned his head, taking them all in. "Well...," he stammered, "I've just gone over Dr. MacKenzie's notes and I wanted to tell you you won't be seeing him again."

"Well thank you, but I'd already decided that," Chris said. "Where's O'Neill?"

"He was injured and he's resting. I have the authority to make some changes and I just came to let you know that things will be getting better."

"So we'll be getting out of here, then?"

"Not exactly. Well, yes, actually. Out of this room, at any rate. But not off the base... not yet."

"Well that's something, at least, right, Chris?" Buck asked as he plopped down at the table. 

"Not enough," Vin said, angrily. "Hell, I need to see daylight. I can't stand being stuck in this cave one more damn day! Give me my horse, my guns and I'll take care of myself."

"You can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because the world has changed. We've been trying to ease you into the changes, but I can see that's not working."

Chris held up his hand. Wouldn't do for Vin to get worked up. No matter what Jackson said, the other doctor had been crystal clear about Vin's - hell any of them - getting agitated. He'd pumped Vin so full of drugs, he'd been drooling. By the time he'd been returned to them, he wasn't himself until Chris brought him into the bathroom and showed him the affection they'd been trying to hide. Which led them here. 

Ezra joined them at the table and leaned forward, watching. 

"So tell us how the world's changed," Chris demanded.

"We don't travel by horse anymore, for one thing. Your horses are useless to you."

"They're still ours," Josiah added. "If we have to, we can sell them."

"You don't need to do that," Daniel said, looking from one to the other. "You don't need to worry about money. It wouldn't be right for us to send you out into the world. Everything has changed. You can't even begin to imagine how."

He had a point, Chris admitted to himself. But that problem could be solved. "So tell us how."

Daniel held up a hand. "I'll do better, I'll show you. I'm only asking you to be patient one more day. That's all. By tomorrow some changes will be made."

"We got your word on that?" Josiah asked.

Daniel nodded vigorously. "Yes, you do. If we hadn't been gone for so long, it wouldn't have taken this long. And for that, I'm sorry."

Vin finally stopped pacing and came to sit at the table. "We don't got to talk to that crazy man no more?"

Daniel started laughing and Vin looked like he was about to take offense, so Chris leaned a little closer to him. 

"No, you don't," Jackson said when he stopped laughing. "How about we all go for a walk?"

"Where to?" Chris asked.

"It's nearly dinner time, we could see what there is to eat in the commissary."

Buck leaned forward on the table and stared at Daniel. "You mean we can get a choice what we want to eat?"

"Of course." Daniel answered looking a little confused. 

Hell, they'd been forgotten about, just like Chris had suspected. "Someone's been bringing us meals. Usually sandwiches for lunch and a big pot of grub for diner. Vin's about the only one eating everything they bring us."

"You learn to eat what's put in front of you, like or not," Vin said, his tone conveying he wasn't quite done being worked up.

"The way you been eating, Vin, I think you like it," Buck said, standing and slapping Vin on the back. "What are we waiting for, let's go! C'mon, kid, get your butt out of bed."

Chris let Buck rouse JD and he turned back to Dr. Jackson. "How bad is O'Neill hurt?" 

"It's nothing - he's just tired. We had a rough mission."

"There a war going on?" Chris asked.

"Uhm... what makes you ask that?"

"The tone around here. Never seen people so serious unless there's a war going on."

"It's complicated." Daniel said.

Isn't it always? Chris asked himself. Hell, Jackson was the first to show any interest in them in far too long, Chris would accept his word and wait and watch. 

"After we have dinner, I have to run some errands, But I'll be back first thing tomorrow, all right?"

Chris just shrugged. Whether it was all right with him or not, it was the way things were. 

Ezra returned from wherever he'd gone and gracefully slid into a chair. Chris studied him for a minute and couldn't help grinning. Dressed for dinner. Only Ezra.

*****

"Feeling better?" Daniel asked.

Jack thought about the question for a minute. Better yeah, good, no. "I feel human again," he finally answered.

Daniel reached out to change the radio station and Jack batted his hand away. An ongoing argument, Jack shot him a sideways glance and smiled. His car, his radio station. Them's the rules.

"I think we should take them on a field trip." Daniel said.

"What?" Daniel didn't answer and Jack could feel him planning. "No. Just... no, Daniel."

"Hear me out, Jack. They need to get off the base. We have to start moving forward with them, give them some kind of life."

"You're right. But we can't chance them getting away from us. Say we bring them on a field trip and they take off. They're a security risk, Daniel."

"No, no... that's not what I meant. Not on Earth."

Realization smacked Jack head-on. "You want to take them through the *gate*?"

"Well... yes."

"You're crazy."

Daniel let out a put-upon sigh. "You already said they're a security risk. And we're not going to let them roam around on Earth - so the logical conclusion is we take them offworld."

"Permanently?" Jack asked, the idea somehow leaving him cold.

"It's an option, yes, if we find a suitable world. But for now, a short trip. They need daylight and sunshine, Jack."

Jack nodded, knowing Daniel was right about that, at least. No one could live underground forever. "Hammond will be back on Wednesday."

"You'll suggest it then?" Daniel asked, sounding hopeful.

"Where do you want to go?"

"There's an ongoing dig on P3X-202."

Jack snorted lightly. "Figures, Daniel. You want to take them to a dig?"

"It's a tropical planet. There's a beach," Daniel explained, sounding a bit enamored of the place for more than just stuff found in the dirt there.

"No natives?"

"The civilization disappeared about fifteen hundred years ago," Daniel assured.

"That doesn't mean there won't be any nasty surprises lurking," Jack said, thinking of the number of times they'd been greeted by such unexpected nasty surprises.

"Our teams have been there for almost a year."

He had a point there, but Jack knew he'd have to re-evaluate the mission reports on P whatever before he could determine the risks. "Let me think about it, all right?"

Daniel nodded, then leaned forward in the passenger seat and pointed, "Spot."

Shopping, One thing Jack hated to do. Especially at one of those gigantic warehouse stores he now found himself in front of. Daniel didn't want to go to the base store, no, that wasn't good enough for Daniel. Jack parked the truck and set the alarm. The things he did for Daniel.

"I've got a question for you, Jack."

"Shoot."

"Can I move in with you?"

Huh? Left field? That one came from another league. "What?"

"I've been thinking. I can give Tanner and Larabee my room, Dunne and Wilmington can take the room next to Teal'c, and Standish, Jackson and Sanchez can have the empty suite down the hall. We can turn their current quarters into a common room. With a little more time, we can probably give them all their own rooms."

"Is this part of your plan to give them a little control?" Jack asked as they crossed the parking lot.

"It makes sense, Jack."

Jack nodded then made a quick glance sideways. "You're right. You sure you want to be my roomie again?"

"It wasn't so bad last time," Daniel answered casually, sliding a grin back at him.

"No, it wasn't." Jack said softly.

"You push," Daniel ordered as he strolled into the store, leaving Jack behind to find a cart. 

Thirty minutes of following Daniel around, pushing the cart, and Jack was ready to go off on his own. 

"No, Daniel, I don't think they need an espresso machine."

"They like espresso."

"They don't know what it is. You brought them a cup and they drank it. Good old Mr. Coffee machine is enough."

"Fine," Daniel said, putting it back with a pout. Jack hated that.

"Jesus, Daniel, you already got them a microwave, a mini-fridge, a toaster... enough food to feed an army... what's next?"

Daniel stopped in front of a display and took down a box. He held it up to Jack and said, "Coffee grinder."

Jack shook his head and turned toward electronics. "Two words, Daniel. Mawell House."

"That's cruel, Jack," Daniel said as Jack headed down the next aisle. "Hey, this way," Daniel called out, not letting him go that easily.

"What now, Daniel?"

"Clothes," Daniel said, a man on a mission.

Jack crossed his arms. "I am not clothes shopping for other guys."

"I remember you once bought me a sweater for Christmas."

Of all the things for Daniel to remember. Jack shrugged. "That's different."

"Come on, you can help me size," Daniel said and looked around before setting his course and taking off.

"Fine," Jack muttered, following Daniel into the clothes aisle.

"Larabee's easy. Black jeans and a few dark shirts." Daniel handed Jack a button down navy blue shirt. "Here try this shirt on."

Jack rolled his eyes but did what he was told, buttoning the new shirt over his own.

"You're a large?" Daniel asked, head tilted to the side.

"Usually. I don't know how to pick out clothes for someone else, Daniel."

"Fine... fine. We'll get Larabee and Wilmington large and Sanchez and Nathan extra large."

Jack started fingering the clothes on display and Daniel rifled through things, picking out a few shirts.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think Standish will like this sweater?"

"How the hell should I know?" Jack asked, not looking up from the shirts he rummaged through.

"You can at least pretend you're not in hell, you know."

Jack sighed, resigned and looked up. "A little more color."

"You think?"

Jack nodded. "Definitely. He dresses like a peacock."

"What size waist are you?"

"Thirty-four," Jack answered automatically.

"OK, we'll go with thirty two for Larabee. Wilmington's about your height, isn't he?"

"Yeah and Larabee's maybe two inches shorter. The tough ones are going to be Dunne, Standish and Tanner. None of us are their sizes. Though Tanner's about the same height as Sam. Hey, why didn't we bring Sam?"

"Sam hates shopping."

"And I don't?" Jack snorted.

"Thanks for coming with me, Jack, I know you're tired." Daniel tossed him a sympathetic grin.

Jack shrugged and held up a plain dark blue t-shirt. "How's this look for Tanner?"

Daniel looked over Jack's shoulder and examined the tag Jack had exposed. "Small might be a little too small, how about medium for all three of them."

"Why can't they just wear what we have on the base? It's been working so far."

"Because we're trying to give them a little control, remember?" Daniel answered patiently.

Right, Jack muttered to himself as Daniel moved off to accessories. 

"How many packages of socks?"

"Jeez, Daniel, I don't know."

"Pretend you're shopping for yourself if you're having a hard time with this," Daniel suggested.

Jack picked up a couple more shirts and threw them in the cart. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Daniel smiling and he almost said 'the faster the better,' but Daniel wasn't about to be side-tracked.

"Come here a sec."

Jack wandered over to Daniel's side and stood next to him, wondering what was next.

"I couldn't decide between boxers or briefs, so how about boxer briefs?"

"You're buying them *underwear*?"

"Of course. Hold still."

Daniel opened a box containing the underwear and unfolded a pair. He held them out against Jack and Jack backed up right into a display.

"Daniel! Do you mind?"

"What?" Daniel asked, all innocent confusion.

"I'm done playing mannequin. I'm going over there." Jack pointed to the electronics aisle and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Jack roamed the aisles, considering... a TV, they definitely needed a TV. DVD player too. Playstation 2 too, definitely a Playstation 2. Now for some movies and games. One good thing about these places was the amazing selection of games, videos and accessories. Now this was worth it, Jack thought, diving in head-first.

He was too busy trying to decide between NHL 2004, three different combat games, and a bazillion racing games to notice Daniel standing beside him.

"What are you doing, Jack?"

"Picking out games."

"I see that. What the hell is this?" Daniel asked, taking one of the items out of Jack's hand to look at it more closely.

"Ah, that, Daniel, is a Mad Catz Blaster Light Gun for the combat and target practice games. See, it has auto-reload, a comfort grip and fully lighted barrel, and it--" Jack stopped when he glanced up from the package to see Daniel's 'you're losing it' expression.

"Right," Daniel said, then cleared his throat. "OK. I think I'm done. Help me pick out a TV and a DVD player and we can go."

"Already taken care of," Jack said with a grin, stacking the games and light gun on top of the pile on the cart.

"Um. Where are they?" Daniel asked, circling the cart.

"The TV is on the loading dock. It wouldn't fit on the cart."

"Jack, it's a flat bed. Just how big is this thing?" Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged, then reached for the DVD player he'd picked out.

"Jack?" Daniel prompted.

"It was on sale, Daniel."

Daniel sighed. "Oh, well that's different, then," he said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, crap, but we need a VCR, too," Jack said, and turned back toward the opposite row of players on display.

"Why? Everything is available on DVD."

"Not everything, Daniel. Most of Baywatch is only on VHS," Jack told him, inspecting a Pioneer model that looked good.

"Of course," Daniel answered, and Jack could hear the confusion in his voice. Daniel had to stop watching so many documentaries, Jack decided.

"I have a few ideas for things for them to watch. I'll go to the History Channel's website when we get back to your place. There's a great series on the history of cities that I think they should see."

"That's just wrong, Daniel. You're going to make them watch documentaries?"

"I'm going to make them available to them to watch at their own pace, Jack."

"See, this is where you're wrong. All they need is Baywatch, Buffy, The Simpsons, Cops... hey look! Band of Brothers box set! They'll like that! And it's history too." Jack held the box up and Daniel nodded.

"Yes to Band of Brothers... but Jack," Daniel paused, staring at Jack and Jack made sure he had his clueless face on. Pulling Daniel's leg really could be fun.

"What?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Baywatch is a good idea. They can get a glimpse of how we live and be entertained at the same time." 

"I knew there was a normal guy under there somewhere."

"You ready?" Daniel asked.

"Two more things."

Jack led the way, letting Daniel stagger under the weight of the full cart. He found the right aisle and took a few steps back, thinking about what the best choice would be. 

"Jack? What are we doing?"

"Beer, Daniel. I know they've been asking for booze, but I can get beer past the general. I'm not too sure about the hard stuff."

"Beer. Right."

Jack finished making his selection, loading the cart down with four cases of varying brands, flashing Daniel a satisfied smile as he loaded another case. "There, that should keep them for a few days."

"Days?"

"There's seven of them, Daniel. And I have a feeling they're hard drinkers."

"Why do you say that?"

"I've seen Wyatt Earp."

"Ah."

"The last thing I need is up front." Jack held out his arm, motioning Daniel ahead of him. Let Daniel push the heavy cart... this was all Daniel's idea, anyway. A Halloween display caught his attention and he wandered off. He'd catch up with Daniel up front.

"Wait... Jack," Daniel called from the next isle over. Jack went up on his toes to see over the display of decorations and candy and caught sight of Daniel waving to him.

"Aspirin?"

"Nope" Daniel pulled a few things off the shelves and Jack nearly slapped himself in the head. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss. All stuff that could be had for half the price at the base store. As he was about to point that little fact out, Daniel pulled a large box off the shelf. Jack reached out to grab it and stick it back on the shelf a half second after he realized what it was.

"You buy that and I am not going in line with you," Jack whispered harshly.

"What?"

"An entire case of KY jelly, Daniel? That's crossing the line," Jack said, face flushing.

Daniel's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? You'll deprive these guys of something they could really use, because you're *embarrassed*?"

"You're the one who told me how 'don't ask, don't tell' these guys are. Ring any bells?" Jack said, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching them.

Daniel flushed, then. "That's not the only use for this stuff, Jack. They could all get something out of this, and I'm sure they can figure it out without me having a lecture on how."

Jack winced. He really didn't want to know.

"Come on, Jack. Don't tell me you don’t, you know, use something like this when you--"

"Ah-ah, don't say it!" Jack warned.

"All right, I won't say it. But we're getting it, and if you let us get out of here without any more arguments, I'll let you have the extra tube that comes in the case," Daniel said, plopping the box on top of the shirts on the cart.

Jack jammed his hands onto his hips, watching Daniel shove the cart forward. "You so owe me for this," he grumbled. After a minute, he huffed out a breath and trudged after him, consoling himself with the fact that Daniel hadn't made a move toward the collection of Trojans on the shelf.

Jack didn't stick around for the booty to be totaled. Besides, he couldn't stand there with Daniel when the teenaged girl rung up the *stuff.* 

The total was going to hurt. But it was Daniel's idea and Jack knew what kind of money Daniel made. Knew he didn't spend any of it either. Jack examined the endcaps as the cart was unloaded and loaded onto a waiting empty cart. The girl gave the total and Daniel didn't even flinch. Jack remembered what he wanted up front as Daniel handed over his plastic.

He headed for the tobacco counter just as Daniel was trying to gain momentum with the loaded up cart. He stood studying the display, not quite sure what he was looking for. 

"You don't smoke," Daniel said from somewhere behind him, almost a question.

"No, but Larabee does."

"You are not buying him cigarettes!"

"He's an adult. If it's legal and they want it, we're getting it for them, Daniel. We're not their parents. This was all your idea anyway."

Daniel cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips, ready to argue. "You know he'll smoke on the base."

"Yup." Jack turned to Daniel and watched him for a minute. He didn't look pissy, which meant Jack won this round. "You can read him the Surgeon General's warnings, Daniel. Though he's got to have a clue that smoking isn't exactly healthy."

"He was a gunfighter, Jack, I don't think he's concerned with the long term."

"Good point. Hey, you have any idea what he smokes?"

"Cheroots -- it's a sweet tobacco. Uhm, little cigars."

Jack made his purchase and followed Daniel out to the car. Little adventure over, he and Daniel headed to his place to crash. He sure was looking forward to teaching these guys about Playstation!

*****

Warm. Cold. Warm along his front, cold along his back. Chris snuggled further into the warmth plastered along his front and wrapped his arm around it. Still half asleep, his body responded automatically to the body squirming against him. Not sure if was dreaming or awake, he instinctively went along with the feeling, rubbing against his lover, enjoying the warmth and comfort.

He opened his eyes - it was dark behind the blanket curtain, but a little light from the room spilled through the cracks. Soft voices and Chris was awake enough to recognize Josiah and Nathan. Buck's snores floated down from above. 

He let his eyes slide closed again and just listened. Warm, content, happy - for the moment. He couldn't tell if Vin was awake or if he was dreaming. Probably dreaming - Vin didn't make those low snuffling, moaning noises when he was awake. Vin ground his backside into Chris' groin and the soft warmth flowing through him took a turn towards lust.

So much for lazy snuggling. Still not sure if Vin was really awake, Chris let his hand roam down from Vin's chest to his groin, surprised to find Vin's hands already there, wrapped around his own dick.

He pulled Vin closer to him, close enough to nibble on his ear and to whisper, "hey."

Vin ground his ass against Chris' groin again, closing even the tiny space that separated them.

"Nice dream?" Chris asked as Vin's boneless sprawl tightened slightly.

"Ummm-hmmm," Vin drawled out, still not making a move away from Chris.

"Josiah and Nathan are awake," Chris whispered into Vin's ear, nibbling and sucking a little after he said his piece.

"Don't care," Vin whispered as a shiver went through him. He twisted his hips a little and the blood rushed straight to Chris' dick.

It felt so good to lie there wrapped around Vin, the two of them luxuriating in the warmth that they shared. He didn't want it to end, so he rubbed Vin's hands, and Vin went to stroking his dick again.

"You haven't had enough?" Chris whispered. He nuzzled into Vin's neck, pushing the hair aside with his nose. Vin's skin was soft and smooth and smelled so good, Chris was happy to just breathe in the scent of him.

Vin shifted his hands so that Chris' was trapped between Vin's and Vin began rubbing a little harder, adding a twist of his hips with every few strokes. 

Oh God, they should stop this before it went to far. Christ, the rest of the men were in the same room, only a thin blanket providing any kind of privacy. But it just felt too good to stop. Vin apparently agreed. His dick swelled even more under their joined hands and Chris couldn't help giving a little shove against Vin's ass.

He gave a few small, teasing thrusts and Vin's hips started moving in time to meet his. They could get off just like this, but a little skin on skin contact would be even better. Chris untangled their hands and reached down to lower the back of Vin's shorts.

Vin raised his hips just enough for Chris to lower his shorts. Chris lowered the front of his own shorts while he was in the neighborhood, and his cock sprung free, immediately going right to the valley between Vin's cheeks. Chris bit his lip to stop the groan from escaping and he held on tight, ready for Vin to start bucking.

"Shhh..." he whispered into Vin's ear, snaking his hand right back to Vin's dick. The front of Vin's shorts were damp and Chris rubbed Vin's dick through the soft material. He used his thumb and forefinger to give a little pinch to the head and Vin almost gasped. Chris managed to get his other arm out from under Vin and brought it up, getting it under Vin's head. He bent his wrist and covered Vin's mouth with his fingers.

Bad move, he realized at the same instance Vin started sucking on his fingers. The groan just slipped out - he was going to bloody his lip with his own teeth, they kept this up. One hand on Vin's dick, the other in Vin's mouth and Chris didn't care about anything else. He couldn't stop his thrusts if he wanted to. Vin lifted his top leg just a little and Chris' dick slipped further into the crack of his ass. The sweat they worked up was just enough to let his dick slide a little as he thrust and he ached to just shove it home. 

Oh god, they shouldn't be doing this. Not here. Not with Josiah and Nathan less than six feet away and Buck sleeping right on top of them. But Vin was moving his hips in lazy circles again, smearing them both with the fluid leaking from Chris' dick.

He pulled his fingers from Vin's mouth and at least Vin had the sense to not suck them as they came free. He made no sound as he shifted his other hand to Vin's lips, pushing enough to let Vin know his fingers wanted in. "A little help," he whispered in Vin's ear and Vin got the message, working up some spit and getting Chris' hand as slick as he could.

Another jolt of warmth wracked Chris and he moved his hips hard enough to shake the bed just a little. Vin's hand came off his dick and went to Chris' ass, holding him still, pressed against his own ass. His shoulders started shaking and Chris' free hand went to Vin's head, carding through his hair. He made himself stop moving his hips. Must have been the hardest thing he'd done in days, but he managed.

Tiny, almost not there, shoves from Vin had Chris ready to plunge into him again, but he held back. They'd been fucking so often, Vin needed little preparation, but a little bit of Chris' precum wasn't enough to ease the way. Last thing he needed to do was ruin the mood by fucking Vin dry. 

He had to admit the thought had appeal. What was wrong with him? Every so often he had these thoughts -- thoughts of sneaking up on Vin and throwing him to the ground, fucking him until he bled. Fucking him dry, burying himself deep in Vin's body, rutting like an animal. Hell, he'd never do it, but the fantasy - it got him worked up - much as he hated looking at that side of himself.

Last time it happened, he'd been sitting on the porch, carving a fox, and two of the town dogs started going at it in the middle of the street. The male had been humping the bitch so hard, his hips were almost a blur. If Vin was in town, Chris probably would have pulled him into his room and rutted the same way. 

What they were up to now was so far from that, though. He let his fingers slip from Vin's mouth, brought his hand down to his own dick and fisted it loosely, spreading Vin's spit all along the head of his dick. He mixed the spit with his own juice, slicking up his cockhead best he could with what he had at hand. 

He needed in and he needed in now. He squeezed his dick tight at the base, tried to stop his thrusts, but Vin's ass called to his dick. Not yet, not yet... he pulled his hand from between their bodies and sucked his fingers. He managed a little spit from his dry mouth. greedily lapping up the taste. Damn, he needed to slick up his fingers, not suck them dry. 

Vin lifted his leg even higher, opening up his ass, offering it for the taking and Chris couldn't stand another second of denial. He slicked up Vin's hole best he could, then grabbed his own cock and took aim. It only took a little pressure and his fat, blood swollen dickhead popped through the little bit of resistance Vin's body naturally gave. He grabbed Vin's cheek, opening him wider and just kept pressing home.

Vin bit down on his fingers and Chris' mouth found Vin's shoulder, biting hard. Vin jumped a little and Chris shoved a little harder. Halfway there and Vin pushed back against him, his body offering no more resistance.

A little dry for comfort, but Chris kept up the pressure. A little more and he'd be balls deep, just like his body demanded. He pushed against Vin and Vin met him, halfway, keeping up the steady pressure until he was all the way inside Vin. Chris rubbed Vin's back, helping him through the worst of the adjustment, reminding him to breathe. 

First time Vin got a good and proper look as his dick, he'd whistled long and low. "Whoeee, Larabee, no wonder Buck calls you stud. Hell if that ain't the biggest prick I've ever seen. Suits 'ya," he'd said with a smirk and Chris tackled him to the ground. Chris laughed at him then and settled for a blowjob - planning how he could get his friend to let him fuck him. It took them some practice before he'd even been able to fuck Vin proper, and not more than just a little convincing. 

Chris let the memory go and concentrated on holding still. Well aware it was Buck, who'd know exactly what the rocking motion was, above them, he settled for tiny movements, just barely rocking into Vin. As the rest of Vin's body went tight, his ass opened for the familiar intrusion and Chris stilled again. 

He snaked his hand around Vin's head again and offered his fingers to Vin. He opened his mouth and sucked them in, biting down and Chris fought a groan by biting into Vin's shoulder again. Hell of it was, he was marking Vin's back up good and he didn't even care. The air grew stuffy from their deep breathing in the enclosed space - and Chris inhaled deep through his nose. God, he just wanted to bear down and start pumping, but he hadn't completely lost his mind.

Vin's ass tightened, then loosed around his cock and Chris bit him again - and Vin tightened up again. Understanding dawned and Chris let Vin do all the work, gripping him from within. He reached for Vin's top leg, lifting it, wedging his own leg under it, then reached around and grasped Vin's dick in a loose grip.

He tugged in time with Vin's contractions, giving him just enough pressure to keep him rock hard and leaking. Hell, the restraint was going to kill him the way full on fucking never did. He concentrated on getting Vin to come, stroking him, fondling his balls, rubbing the entrance his own dick was stuffed in. He rocked in time with Vin's last contraction and Vin bit his hand, hard.

Almost shouting from the pain, Chris squeezed Vin's balls and Vin gasped around his hand. Message sent and received, Vin stopped biting down on Chris' fingers. Chris loosed the grip he had on Vin's balls and set to stroking again. It always amazed him, the softness of the skin surrounding the hard flesh and he wondered if his felt just as soft. It wasn't the same, touching your own dick and touching someone else's. But that's what led them down this road in the first place. 

Three weeks on the trail with not another soul seen and Chris'd gotten tired of getting up and leaving camp to take care of his morning erection. They wouldn't be home for another week and before the week was out, they'd started jerking each other off.

He and Vin were closer than any two men had any right to be at that point. Taking care of business in front of his partner didn't bother him like it should have. Touching his partner bothered him even less - like not at all. 

He already loved Vin at that point, but adding sex to the mix bound them together, made them even closer. He thought they were obsessed with each other, hardly ever leaving each other's sides - but they'd been that way before they started fucking. 

Oh God, Vin was moving again and Chris tightened the grip he had around Vin's cock. It was going to take them hours to come, at the rate they were going, but he didn't have any pressing appointments anyway. He laughed against Vin's back and Vin chuckled in return. Vin's mood was much improved, Chris was glad to see.

Amazed he'd stayed hard this long, with so little to keep him that way, Chris gave a few tiny shoves, Vin's strength meeting his to keep them in place. He went back to the task at hand, working Vin's cock, intent on giving him his pleasure. Working in time with his own movements, he soon had Vin sucking on his fingers again. Moments later and Vin bit down, his body going stiff, his come spitting out in waves, catching in Chris' fist. 

Vin's ass clenched around his cock and he didn't fight it any more. He jerked in time with Vin's contractions and soon, his balls emptied deep inside. Holding his breath while he came, he didn't start breathing again until the last drop had been wrung from him.

A deep breath and Vin tried to pull away, tried to separate their bodies and Chris wrapped his arm tight around Vin's waist. "Don't move," he whispered and Vin stopped moving.

Chris' still hard dick stayed deep inside Vin and Vin relaxed, aware that sometimes, Chris had a powerful need to stay nestled inside him, only slipping out when he fell asleep and lost his grip on Vin's waist.

Happy Vin was willing to humor him, Chris rubbed Vin's come into his groin, spreading the fluid around, making little patterns on Vin's skin. Vin went completely lax in his grip and Chris held on tighter, even as Vin went looser.

"Don't know how I'd live without you, pard," Chris whispered into Vin's ear. "Scares me, sometimes." He'd almost added an 'I love you' for good measure, but it ain't hardly worth saying if it's only said after blowing your brains through your dick. Only thing he wished for at times like these was Vin being a little softer of a man. A man he could be softer with. Could say things like I love you without sounding like a fool.

He buried his face in Vin's neck again and held onto him, pulling him close, not planning to ever let him go.

*****


	17. 17

*****

"You do."

"No, I don't."

"You just don't remember."

Daniel did the lip biting thing and Jack felt a twinge of guilt. But not enough to stop him.

"Daniel, believe me, you like peppers on your pizza."

"Maybe before," Daniel conceded. "Or maybe I was only humoring you."

"Oh, trust me, Daniel, you don't ever give in just to humor me."

"Maybe not on the important stuff, Jack, but I don't remember arguing over pizza."

"Well then, what you have is selective memory loss."

Daniel's expression shuttered and Jack felt another little twinge that might have been more guilt. Not fair, O'Neill, not fair to pick on the guy with a Swiss Cheese memory. But sometimes, he wanted to know what Daniel remembered and what he didn't. Shouted words when he was ready to break into a million pieces. 'You're a better man than that,' and he really didn't feel like one at the moment.

Jack grabbed another beer and turned the sound up on the TV. Avs vs. Flames and he used a handy diversion tactic, settling in to watch the second period.

"What the hell was that?" He shouted, jumping to his feet, nearly spilling his beer. "Come on, where's the god-damned whistle?"

"It was a legitimate hit, Jack."

"No way! That was boarding, Daniel. You weren't watching."

"Yes, I was, and it was a clean hit. You're only mad because your guy was on the wrong end of it."

"Oh, what do you know about hockey, anyway."

"Apparently, enough to know what constitutes boarding."

"You have sauce on your chin."

"Huh?"

"Pizza sauce. On your chin, smart guy."

"Oh... thanks."

Dammit. Hockey wasn't enough of a diversion tonight. "Jeeze, Daniel, doesn't it even make you at least a little uncomfortable?"

"It's just sauce, Jack. All gone, see?"

"Not the sauce. Larabee and uhm... Tanner. You're going to give them your room. Your room with one bed." There. He'd come out and said it. It'd been bothering him during the shopping trip, while they unloaded the perishables from the truck to the fridge and it kept popping into his head during hockey. He'd almost mentioned it a few times, but this time, it just slipped out.

Daniel's mouth opened in surprise... Jack thought it was on Daniel's mind too, but since when did he know what the hell went on in Daniel's head.

Daniel finally answered. "What? Oh... that. Well... you see... uhm..."

"They're not the kind of guys who do that."

"Have sex with each other?"

Jack did spill his beer, this time. Right out of his mouth and across the couch and all over Daniel. "Don't say things like that, Daniel!"

"You're the one who brought it up, Jack." Daniel shook his head and mopped the spillage with his napkin.

"Well, you gotta admit, they're not the type of guy you think of when you think of... uhm..."

"Gays?"

Jack nodded, glad he didn't have to come out and say it. Talking to anyone other than Daniel about this subject would be unthinkable; with Daniel, it was merely uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. He pointed his beer bottle at Daniel and said, "Exactly."

"You're making two big mistakes, Jack." Daniel put his plate on the coffee table and wiped his hands, ready to give a lecture. Jack knew the signs. 

Jack set himself to follow - Daniel was about to go into fast talking mode and Jack wasn't sure he had the strength to keep up. But he'd been the one to bring it up, so he'd let Daniel do the speed lecture thing.

"First of all, there isn't any 'type.' Surely, at your age, you'd know that by now. And second, there was no 'gay' in their time. That's a modern distinction. Why are we talking about this?"

"You started it."

"How the hell did *I* start it?"

"You bought them lube!" Jack answered before he could stop himself, feeling his cheeks get warm.

"That's what brought this on? I bought them lots of personal care products, Jack."

"All I'm saying is that it makes me uncomfortable. I've never been around it before."

"You're kidding me."

"Daniel. I've been in the military my entire adult life. I'm an officer. Even if I knew someone who was gay, I couldn't *know* they were gay." How could Daniel not understand that?

"Surely you've had civilian friends."

"Not that many, Daniel. And none who were that way," Jack said, then ducked his head.

"*That* way, Jack? I never would have figured you for a bigot."

Jack whipped his head up at that. "I am so not a bigot, Daniel. I can't explain why it makes me uncomfortable."

"I can."

"Well enlighten me, then."

"They're challenging all of your preconceived notions of masculinity and that scares you, Jack."

"Wrong."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

Daniel sighed, then leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "You've lived your entire life in a culture that says real men don't have sexual relations with other men. You've been programmed to socialize with men using one set of rules. Jack, you had a hard time even holding hands with Teal'c when you *had* to so you could walk through that wall on Tollana!"

"Hey, I did it! And you weren't even there for that!"

"Teal'c told me about it." Daniel shook his head, a little smirk forming. "Anyway, Larabee and Tanner are breaking those rules and they're not anything like you think they should be - what you've been programmed to think they should be like. They're not weak and they're not feminine and either one of them could probably kick your ass."

Jack snorted. "You are so wrong, Daniel. Especially about the ass kicking." Jack leaned back and threw up his arms, then leaned forward again, pointing. "And don't even try to tell me you don't think the same thing."

"Okay, okay, I'll admit that I'm not immune to thinking stereotypically at times; I mean it's human to be susceptible to social influences, as bombarded as we are with them, and I think that we expected acculturation to happen just to these guys when we decided to try to acclimate them, but the reality is that we're also experiencing a degree of culture shock--"

"Daniel!" Jack interjected, his head beginning to ache.

"All right, it makes me a little uncomfortable, but only because I know something about them that is private."

"Bullshit. Even you take a breath between syllables now and then, unless you're nervous."

Daniel's eyebrows climbed. "Nervous? I'm not nervous."

Jack suppressed a grin. Daniel was uncomfortable, but dealing with it. Somehow, just knowing that was enough, and Jack felt that he could relax a little, and even let Daniel off the hook-- a little. "Whatever you say, big fella."

Daniel shot him a narrow glare, but Jack just smirked and looked back to the game.

"Aw, jeeze, now that was a charge, and you know it!"

"It was a hip-check, Jack, and he didn't take more than two strides."

Jack stared at Daniel, for a long moment, until Daniel finally looked sideways at him. "What?"

"Daniel. How is it that you remember rules about boarding and checking, but you don't remember what pizza toppings you like?"

Daniel's mouth opened, then closed, and right then, Jack knew he'd been had. After a second, Daniel grinned at him. "You said it before... Selective memory?"

Jack shook his head, then pulled another slice from the box. "Next time, buddy, we get pineapple and canadian bacon."

Daniel smiled as he picked another green pepper from his own slice. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack nodded in acknowledgment. Didn't matter at the moment what other things Daniel did or didn't remember. The guy had taken peppers on his pizza for him and explained about gay cowboys. Now that was a true friend.

*****

He could do this. Right, he could. Sure, you betcha. He originally picked Daniel for this assignment, knowing the way Daniel liked to explain things, loved going on and on about stuff. Sharing information, learning new things, passing things on to other people - it made Daniel light up. But when Jack went to Daniel to tell him of the plan, Daniel had other ideas.

Okay, so Daniel had a point. Larabee would listen to Jack more readily than he would listen to Daniel. He hesitated at the door, ready to knock, but then the last night's conversation with Daniel had him hesitating, hand raised. He hoped he wasn't interrupting anything he really didn't need to know about, but banged on the door a few times anyway.

A few uncomfortable minutes of standing there shifting from foot to foot, hands jammed in his pockets and Jack was ready to go back to his office and pick up the phone. Should have thought of that earlier.

Jack was looking the other way when the door opened and he spun around in time to see Tanner peering out.

"Hi," Jack said, giving a little wave. 

Tanner didn't say anything, just swung the door open and stepped back a couple of feet.

"Chris here?" Jack asked.

"Where else would he be?"

"Right." Jack stepped into the room and looked around. New clothes on the bed, a few things moved around, but all in all, exactly the same room as when he'd napped in it the day before.

"Colonel? Something I can do for you?" Larabee asked as he came out of the bathroom, shirtless and wiping his face with a towel. 

"We need to talk."

"So talk," Larabee said as he tossed his towel onto the bed and rummaged through the shirts for something to his liking.

"Not here; we're going for a walk. Vin can head down to your old room. Daniel and Teal'c are setting up show and tell."

Larabee cocked his head and stared while Jack explained show and tell.

"You two can fill each other in later," Jack said as Tanner headed, without argument, into the corridor and toward their old room, now converted to the men's new common.

"Where are we going?" Chris asked.

"Up top. Bring your access card and your smokes." 

Right after breakfast that morning, which had been pretty entertaining, the tour for the seven of them had begun. Daniel's office a few floors up, Teal'c's room, Sam's laboratory, the gym - a little orientation. Last on the list, photo ID's and access cards, programmed to give them access to the places they needed to go. Commissary, gym, stairs, elevators, infirmary, floors that weren't restricted. The more, the better, Daniel had said and Jack agreed. They couldn't cause too much trouble roaming empty corridors and Jack had surreal visions in his head of habit trails and hamsters wearing cowboy hats. 

Larabee didn't say a word, just grabbed his smokes and followed him out the door, but he fell into place as Jack headed toward the elevator. They weren't going to ride the elevator to the top, just high enough so the rest of the climb up the access shaft wouldn't kill them. 

Jack led the way up the access shaft, stopping at the top to input his codes and swing the door open. After dinner, sun low in the sky, the day was still warm and Jack couldn't have ordered better weather. Early fall days in the mountains - just one of the many things that kept him in the game, kept him fighting the good fight.

He cleared the entrance and waited for Larabee to appear. A few seconds later and the sun shone down on Larabee's head, his blond hair shining gold. He cleared the access shaft a moment later and stood, staring up into the sky.

"I thought Vin was the only one missing the sun. Didn't realize I did too."

"I don't notice it either, when I'm stuck on the base for a long time. First time I get out after that though, and I wonder how the hell I didn't realize."

"So, what did you bring me here for?" Larabee asked as he scanned the area. "We're in the mountains?"

"Rocky Mountains. Colorado."

"Never been to the Colorado Territory before. Farthest north I've been is Mountaineer."

"That's a ways south of here."

"Must get pretty cold here."

"Yup," Jack said and started walking. Larabee would follow him, of that he was sure. A few steps and Chris was right at his side, patiently waiting for an explanation. "I wanted to show you some stuff and to tell you a few things."

"Go ahead."

"First, it'll be up to you to tell your men or not tell them. We know how you react to strange new things - you don't panic or jump to conclusions, so we figured to tell you and you could tell the others."

Larabee nodded and Jack looked off to the horizon. What first? Show or tell? They started up a rise and Jack held up his hand. 

"Over that last rise right there is the entrance to the base. There's a road there and some other things. Feel free to ask questions."

Jack led the way and within minutes, the main entrance to the base came into view. A couple of cars were lined up, waiting to be cleared and Jack didn't say anything. He'd let Larabee take it all in and ask questions when he was ready.

Long silence and Jack thought Daniel's idea was all wrong. He would be better showing the others about TV and Playstation, wouldn't he?

"Any questions?" Jack finally asked.

Larabee watched silently as the cars were cleared, shaking his head no a few moments later. The man didn't give away much, but Jack could see from the intent look on Larabee's face that he was processing it all. A few more minutes of silent watching, and Larabee turned his back, looking to the meadows, then up into the peaks.

"The base is beneath us," Jack said, not sure what else to say. "Inside the mountain," he added for good measure.

"What are those things on wheels?" Larabee asked, still not looking back, and his face still a mask of calm.

"Cars. They're why no one uses horses anymore. You've seen trains, right?" At Larabee's nod, Jack continued. "Well, similar concept with the engines, except these cars don't need to be on tracks."

Just as Larabee gave another short nod, an engine roared in the distance, so Jack took the opportunity to introduce Larabee to more modern wonders. He nudged him and pointed up.

"That's a plane-- uhm... an airplane," Jack said, watching Larabee watch the plane. "It has the kind of engine that allows it to fly."

"There's people in that?" Larabee asked, voice low.

"About two hundred or so," Jack said, nodding. "Ready for more?"

Larabee shook his head, his expression finally cracking-- just a bit. Jack headed for some boulders a few yards away and took a seat. He reminded himself to give Larabee time. This had to be a hell of a lot to digest.

Jack tried to remember what it had been like when he'd first learned of, then seen, the Stargate. He tried to call back that feeling of awe, of utter disbelief that such a thing existed. But there was no going back and while he could remember the shock, sort of, the knowledge gave him, he couldn't quite bring back that feeling in his gut he got from it all. Too much time, too much seen, he supposed.

Larabee pulled out his smokes and lit one up and Jack relaxed against the boulders. The sun was almost down and it was about time for the really hard part.

Shit, he'd try to keep it short. He didn't have to try too hard. Sam and Daniel were the ones given to dissertations when answering questions or explaining things. He tended to go for easy, or in other words, need to know. 

He let Larabee smoke, watching as Chris periodically went back to the top of the rise to watch the entrance of the mountain. Once the sun was almost set, Jack waved him over.

"I've got a couple more things to tell you, then we head back in."

Chris sat silently, puffing on his cheroot every so often. 

"Just like the first time we met, I'm going to give you the facts and not try to convince you. It seemed to work, right?"

Larabee nodded and Jack readied the little speech he'd prepared.

"Okay, here we go," Jack mumbled, then cleared his throat.

Not sure how much Larabee knew about the universe, he started at the beginning. He pointed down to the ground. "Earth, planet." He pointed to the setting sun, "Sun, star. Got it?"

Larabee nodded and Jack swept his hand across the darkening sky, indicating all the stars twinkling in the semi-darkness. "All those stars, most of them have planets circling them - like Earth does our sun and star."

Jack raised his eyebrows in question and Larabee nodded.

"Okay, here's the tough part. There are billions of planets out there - and some of them have beings, some like us, some not so like us, on them."

"All this is interesting," Larabee finally said, as he stood, threw his cheroot to the ground and ground it with his heel. He bent and picked it up, fingering it to feel for heat before dropping it to the ground. He stood back up, looking Jack in the eye. "What I don't understand is what any of it has to do with us."

Jack raised his arm in the air, "Ah-Ah - I'm getting to that part. As I was saying, lots of stars, lots of planets... lots of aliens-- living beings-- living on those planets. Some of them are allies and some... well, some are pretty hostile. Like trying to either kill us or enslave us."

"So there is a war going on."

Jack sighed. "There's always a war going on, Chris. But this base isn't concerned with wars on Earth."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Jack looked into Larabee's steely gaze. It was an expression that demanded answers, and Jack couldn't blame him.

"The thing is... well, no one else on Earth knows about the whole life on other planets thing. They're not ready to know. And since you were kidnapped by aliens and returned over a hundred years later, no one can know about you because well... then they'd know about the whole aliens thing."

Larabee snorted and shook his head. "I knew your bullshit about looking out for us was just that. Bullshit."

Jack winced. "No, that's only part of it. Can you honestly tell me that your men would take what you've already seen as well as you have?"

"Some of them."

Jack sighed, again. "Okay, you want to see more? Want to be convinced? I'll take you in my car and we'll go for a little drive. You can see our small city and it will be the largest city you've ever seen in your life. You can see people that, to you, will be more alien than half the aliens we meet. I'm a pilot -- I know how to fly a plane, I could take you up... are you ready for that?"

Chris was silent, finally saying, "Already been gone too long." But he stared up into the sky rather than towards the clearing, the woods beyond and the access shaft.

"You let me know when you're ready and I'll take you. But we need to talk about one more thing."

Chris gave a short shake of his head, but joined Jack leaning against the boulders and tilted his head back, staring again up into the now completely dark night sky. Light pollution from Colorado Springs haloed the horizon and stars shone from above. 

Chris' expression was serious, thinking, and Jack wondered if maybe he'd reached his limit on information. Then again, Larabee had to be told, if they were going to give these guys the break from the compound they desperately needed.

"Daniel suggested taking you all off-world so you can get outside. I think it's a good idea."

"You mean to another planet?" Chris asked, his eyes narrowing a little.

"Exactly. You need to get off the base for awhile and it's a safe planet."

"You going to dump us there?"

"No!" Jack answered quickly, surprised at the suggestion.

Larabee shrugged. "Figured maybe you thought about it. Be an easy way to solve your end of the problem."

"We're not looking to solve a problem with you. We're looking for a way to give you some kind of life. It might take awhile, but there you have it."

"Would have been easier to kill us while we were drugged."

Jack's blood ran cold. If Larabee only knew... "We're not the kind of people who do that."

"I figured that out by now, O'Neill. I'm only thinking."

Jack looked up to the sky himself. He didn't want to push, but he needed to know. "You think you're all up for a trip?"

"How?" Larabee asked, looking him in the eye.

"Uhm... I think I'll just let you experience that one. It's kind of hard to explain," Jack said. Larabee glared at him. Hard. Jack tried again. "Honestly. There's a lot of scientific stuff that goes with explaining it, and I don't even know how to pronounce most of it."

Larabee nodded and Jack wasn't sure where to go next. 

"What's Daniel showing the others?" Chris asked, to Jack's relief.

"Why don't we head back, and they can fill you in."

Larabee nodded and Jack stood up, knees popping, and headed for the access shaft. Jack was pretty sure it went fairly well, but it was damn near impossible to know what Chris was thinking. Jack really wanted to hear how Daniel's evening went, and was anxious to compare notes. Besides that, he really wanted to see how the others had taken to their new toys.


	18. 18

*****  
Chris stepped off the elevator thing and headed toward his corridor without a look back at O'Neill. It had been an interesting conversation. He wondered briefly if he should have taken O'Neill up on his offer of a tour of town, but he didn't want to think about getting into one of those car contraptions. Not yet anyway. Images of flying machines flashed in his mind and he shuddered, just a little.

Fact of it was, maybe O'Neill had a point about taking things slow. Wait until Vin heard about this. Though he had a notion that Vin would be one of them to not take things too well. Vin hadn't ever even been to a city in his lifetime. Biggest place he'd ever been to was Laredo - and with less than three thousand people, that wasn't saying much. 

Buck might be a better one to talk to about this stuff. Of all of them, Buck and JD would probably handle things pretty well. They'd get excited and make a lot of noise, but Buck was open minded and JD was city born and bred. Ezra would talk a good game and keep his cool, Josiah had already seen a lot, but he could be pretty rigid, in his own way. Nathan's reaction would be a mystery. 

He'd talk to Buck first and Vin later - when they were alone. He went directly to their new living area, rather than he and Vin's room. 

After the tour and breakfast, when they'd been shown to their new rooms, Vin's expression said 'we need to talk' and Chris was a little put off. As soon as they were alone, Vin turned to him and said, "Why are we the only ones with one bed?"

Might as well be out with it. He considered how to say what he needed to, but he wasn't one to mince words or try to hide the truth through fancy talk. "When I thought you were going to die, I might have shown you some affection in front of O'Neill and Dr. Jackson."

"Great, Larabee. So if I died, you didn't care about what happened to 'ya?"

"I wasn't really thinking about that, Vin. I didn't care who was watching, I wasn't going to sit back and watch you die without even touching you!"

"As usual, Chris, you decide for the both of us. Hell, no wonder that quack...," Vin stalked away, throwing his arms in the air as his words trailed off.

"You ready to tell me what the doctor did to set you off?"

"Nope. Dang it, Chris, it ain't like you to do something like that!" 

Yeah, and it wasn't like him to wake up 100 years in the future with a more dead than alive partner, either. A little understanding would have been nice. But, hell, if Vin wanted a fight, he'd give him one of those. "You never seemed to have a problem with the way things are. You got a problem?"

Vin threw his hands in the air and stomped off across the room. After a few short circuits on the other side of the bed, he stalked back into Chris' space. "No, I ain't got a problem with it. I would've moved on long before now if'n I had a problem with your ornery hide!"

"Then what is your problem?"

"I don't know!" Vin nearly shouted and Chris shrugged his shoulders and tossed their new clothes down onto the bed. Saddle bags, hat, and coat followed.

"Chris... I...," Vin bounced onto the bed, sitting in front of Chris. 

He scrubbed at his face with his hands and looked around a little, finally turning to Chris and Chris reached out, placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "You're feeling trapped, aren't you?"

Vin let out a big sigh. "Yeah, I reckon I am. And I'm in the wrong, taking it out on you like I been."

Chris thought on it for a minute, finally letting go of Vin's shoulder and started to unpacking. "It's all right. It's like that time we got snowed in and we were both ready to take the fry pan to each other's hard heads."

"No it ain't. We knew the snow would melt."

Chris took a seat next to Vin and looked off toward the other side of the room. "Don't worry on it. Anyway, I'm not one to cast stones when it comes to taking moods out on someone else. From now on, you get in a mood, you go run around the corridors some, or maybe hit that bag in that room with all the machines. Or tell me to go somewhere else, if you want to be alone." Chris looked to Vin and shrugged. It was the best he could offer, for now.

"Or maybe we could do what we did when we got snowed in..." Vin offered, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Well on that count, Chris was happy to oblige, maybe even make that smile a little more genuine.

An hour later and O'Neill was knocking on their door.

Chris didn't like seeing this side of Vin. Usually quick with a joke and pretty easygoing, Vin's temperament resembled Chris' more and more over the past few weeks. Not liking it one bit, one short fuse was enough for the two of them, he knew it wouldn't be changing until something gave. This trip of O'Neill's might be just the thing.

It took him a few tries, but his funny little card finally got the door to the common room open and he stepped in, ready to face whatever Dr. Jackson had in store for them. 

*****

Less fumbling with the door this time and Chris stepped into his quarters. "Vin?" he called out and got no answering greeting. Where the hell did he get to?

Earlier, when Chris stepped into the 'Saloon,' as the others had already taken to calling their common area, Buck told him Vin lit out over an hour before. Then, of course Buck had to show him all the stuff Dr. Jackson brought them. All of them, including JD, were off to a good start on a decent bender and Chris joined them. Vin wanted to be found, he'd turn up. 

Almost two hours later and still no Vin. But Vin was feeling trapped - and Chris knew what that felt like. It set your skin to itching and your temper on edge. Gave Chris, especially, a hair trigger. When he'd get like that, before, Chris moved on without a word, but that wasn't exactly an option, this time. Hadn't been for awhile, even when he could anytime he wanted to. 

He'd let Buck lead him around the room, arms flying all over the place, as he pointed out what each contraption did. Looked like they'd be living high on the hog. He settled in to easy conversation over beers with Buck.

Chris didn't share what Jack told him or showed him, thinking doing it when they were all sober might be a better plan. And then he didn't think much, just sat around while everyone drank their beer and played their cards, that window to the world contraption making sound that drew all their attention. Some sort of sporting event, played on ice, *inside a building* and Chris had to hand it to Daniel for being a bright fellow.

A look at how people lived without showing them too much. It took some getting used to, those moving pictures, but it was easier than he first thought it would be when he sat down. And no sign of cars or airplanes and for that, Chris was grateful. Lots and lots of people all crammed into one building though. People dressed really strange, Chris noticed right off.

JD almost went into a fit when he saw the game was played in Boston. Had him going on about cities and lots of people around not bothering him the least bit. He decided the team from Boston was going to win when he didn't even know how the game was played. And, for good measure, Buck decided the team from St Louis was his team. Buck argued Missouri was right next door to Kansas, his home state, and Chris didn't even try to keep up with Buck logic. Ezra got a gleam in his eye, probably thinking about taking bets, and Chris felt at home for the first time in weeks. Only thing missing was Vin.

He'd been quiet awhile, just listening, watching and thinking about O'Neill's talk when JD took the seat next to him and dropped some still pictures onto the table.

"Vin left before he saw these, Chris. I thought he might want his. Some of them are yours, too."

A stack of photographs and Chris was intrigued enough to put down his beer and examine them more closely. He went through the stack one by one, examining the details and separating out the four that were clearly meant for him and Vin. 

"Where did these come from, JD?"

"The doctor lady brought them in. She said her daughter is crazy about horses. The general is boarding them at his place and Cassandra is taking good care of them. She wrote letters on the back, too."

Chris picked up the head study of his horse and flipped it over. In a neat script, the girl reassured him his horse was happy and well cared for and she'd added a few questions about his care and what his favorite snacks were. He got a lump in his throat thinking about their horses free ranging and the lump got thicker when he studied the photograph of Pony and Peso, running together in the sun, their manes and tails flying.

"It's awfully nice of them to care for our horses so good, huh, Chris?" JD asked before going back to sit by Buck again.

It was time to find Vin, Chris had decided. He downed the last of his beer, nodded to the rest of them and went off searching, not finding a trace of him, and ending up coming back to empty quarters.

Chris dropped the pictures on the table just inside the door. Still no answer to his shouts of 'Vin,' and Chris closed the door shut behind him. His sense of time still screwed up beyond repair, and though he knew it was late, Chris wasn't the least bit tired. He browsed the books on the shelves, but none interested him and he thought about maybe going back out on the hunt for Vin. He wouldn't even know where to start, though.

Talking to Buck had helped him sort through some things, but he needed to let Vin know they were going on a trip. Was about time he got to share some good news. Buck's accusation that nothing really changed for Chris had hit a little too close to home. 

Sure, all the outside stuff, that changed, but he didn't leave anyone behind and he was still the man in charge, still the one who got to make decisions - at least he had something to do, something to concentrate on. But he didn't tell anyone to follow him, he never had, they just did. And once they did, he made the decisions and that was that. 

Buck was grateful, even admitted it, even admitted he looked to Chris now more than ever and in some ways that made him proud and gave him pause. If they were looking to him to decide all of their futures, well then he'd have to rein in some of the selfishness he knew he was prone to. 

The door opening a crack had him out of his seat and halfway across the room before Vin even slipped inside.

"Was starting to get a little worried," he said when Vin looked up to meet his gaze.

"Just scouting some. Couldn't take the noise or being in that room again, even if the door was open this time."

"See anything interesting?"

Vin moved closer, close enough to touch, before sharing what he'd learned. "This place goes on forever. Lots of places we can't go, but lots of places we can."

Chris nodded, letting Vin know he wanted to hear all about it. But first, a treat. "I have something for you," Chris said, turning to go get the photographs from the table.

Vin grabbed his shoulder though, and Chris spun back around to find Vin practically plastered to him. Vin sniffed him, like a dog with a scent, and Chris let him, even bending his neck so Vin could scent his hair.

"You've been outside," Vin said when he was done.

"A few hours ago, now, but yes, I've been outside." 

"Out with it. What's it like?"

"About the same. Didn't get to see much."

"Tell me what you did see."

"More machines, trees, mountains, the entrance to this place. It's pretty well guarded."

"No way to make a break for it, then?"

"Not that I could see. I don't think they'll be taking us out more than one at a time. These people aren't stupid, Vin. They know we won't go anywhere without each other. I do think they mean well though."

"We don't need to be taken care of!"

"I know that," Chris said, pulling away from Vin. "But... You telling me that after what you've seen already, you don't think you'd be skittish getting out into the midst of it all?"

"Hell, I stayed away from cities before, reckon I can do it again."

"It's not that easy." 

Chris sat down on the edge of the bed and Vin moved closer again. After a minute, he leaned in and pulled Chris against his chest, burying his face in Chris' hair and sniffing again.

"I can smell outside on you."

"We're in the Colorado Territory, in the mountains. Must be that fresh mountain air."

"Air's nice. You been smoking though. Drinking beer too."

"Good thing I'm not trying to hide anything, then." Chris pulled away a little and looked up to meet Vin's eyes. "They want to take us on a trip."

"When? Soon?"

"Don't know that part, yet."

"You told 'em yes, right, Chris?"

"Well, it's a little complicated. O'Neill said we'd be going to a different planet."

"Planet? I don't follow."

"To another world. Not Earth."

"Pshaw! There ain't no such thing!"

"When I was outside, I saw a machine flying through the sky, full of people. I'm not too sure about what there is or isn't anymore, Vin."

Vin was perfectly still for a moment, then went back to scenting his hair again and Chris relaxed against his chest. He'd give Vin time to ponder and then bring it up again later. The idea would grow on him, of that Chris was sure. Hell, it'd already taken root in his own mind and he was getting more and more interested in the notion of going to a different *planet*.


	19. 19

*****  
"Colonel, I'll leave you to it, then," Hammond said as he nodded to everyone and left the conference room.

Jack gave a brief once over to the men assembled around the table. Hell, they really were going to do this. 

"Okay, let's get started," he said as he lowered the lights and pressed the remote. "This is where we're going."

Video of the planet came up on the screen and Jack took the opportunity to study each of them a little more closely. He let the video play out, he didn't need to watch it, his team was the first one on the planet almost a year before. But the reactions, that's what he wanted to see.

Having only gotten somewhat used to television, they still seemed fascinated, and Jack could see the wheels turning in their heads-- most of them, anyway. Larabee and Tanner had consummate poker faces. But even if they weren't mesmerized, both men looked interested. Finally, Tanner's expression cracked just a little bit, and Jack sensed that what he saw on Tanner's face then, was longing. Couldn't blame him, not having been out in the fresh air and sunshine in so long. On this planet, he'd have plenty of that, plus lots of lush, green plant-life. For a split second, Tanner looked as though he could almost smell the foliage.

When the virtual tour ended, Jack raised the lights and took a seat.

"Any questions before I get started?"

"I have a question," Standish said. He didn't wait for acknowledgment before speaking again. "I'm not particularly clear on why we will be living rough. We have all the conveniences here... do we really need to go camping? I've had enough of sleeping in the dirt to last a lifetime."

"You don't have to come, Ezra, no one's making you," Larabee said.

"But Chris, there looks to be a perfectly comfortable compound available. I'm only trying to ascertain why we will be living as if we are on the trail when it is clearly not necessary."

"They're working there and we'll be in their way," Daniel answered for Jack, who really didn't have a good answer to give.

"Okay, if that's all the questions, let's go over the rules." 

The rest of them sat quietly, waiting and watching while Jack got ready for the rest of his presentation. The only way Hammond agreed to the trip was if they set out some ground rules and all of them agreed to those rules before they left. These men were from a time when a man's word was everything. And they wouldn't be going anywhere if they didn't give their word.

"When we return, we all submit to a medical exam. We all do it every single time we go through the gate, no exceptions." Jack specifically turned to Tanner for that one. "We have to be sure that we didn't bring anything back with us that could be contagious or could have made us ill, and a medical is the only way to do that." No one argued, which was good, because anyone who didn't agree would be left behind.

"You get your weapons once we're through the gate and you give them back before we come back." That one was Daniel's idea. Jack would have ix-nayed the weapons, but Daniel stressed the fact that the men would never agree to going to a different planet without the ability to defend themselves in the ways they knew how. So they'd come up with a compromise. Once they were through the gate, their weapons would be turned over to them and when it was time to come back, the gate wouldn't be opened until they returned their weapons. As far as compromises went, Jack had to admit it was a good one.

"No killing and eating any of the animals. We're bringing food." Again he looked to Tanner. "And we really don't know what eating those things would do to us, being, you know, animals on another planet," he added, ignoring Daniel's subtle but semi-sarcastic thumbs-up.

"You swim only in designated areas - and that means within the nets. We don't want anyone getting eaten by anything, right? The people who've been working there have a nice, safe beach set up."

"Buck," Dunne whispered loudly, "I'm not so sure about this. I've seen stuff pulled out of the ocean before. You ever seen a shark, Buck? Back home, sometimes fishing boats would come back with sharks strung up. Those things must have been twenty feet long and nothing but teeth!"

"Hell kid, you don't have to get in the water if you're scared. Sides, Chris'll shoot anything that gets too close." Buck gave a big wink and made an exaggerated production of settling back in to listen to the rules.

"Lastly..." And for this one, Jack made sure he had all of their attention. "Anything goes wrong, you follow Daniel and get your asses back to the gate." None of them protested, surprisingly, and Jack relaxed a little. They'd kept the list of rules short, purposely, sticking to the most important only.

"I have a question," Sanchez said.

Jack nodded and Sanchez asked, "What exactly do you mean if anything goes wrong?"

Okay, he and Daniel covered this one, too. Give the information if asked, but don't volunteer anything. 

"We've told you a little about the enemies we're facing out there," Jack waved his hand in the air. "The planet we're heading to is a safe place, but things can and do change. There's always a slight chance we could run into trouble. And if we do, you follow Dr. Jackson to the gate and he'll open it. You aren't prepared to go up against what's out there. You'll be more help coming back here for reinforcements."

The men all looked to each other and Jack almost kicked Daniel under the table, recognizing the 'wait and see' looks the seven men were sharing. He knew that one wouldn't go over well. Good thing there wouldn't be any trouble on this trip.

"I have a question," Wilmington said.

"Go ahead." Jack almost dreaded it, especially from Wilmington, but better he know what was on these guys' minds now, rather than later.

"We can socialize with the ladies there, right? When they're not busy working, I mean."

Relieved, Jack caught Larabee rolling his eyes and Tanner smirking. "Daniel?" Jack said with a smile.

"Right. Ahem... well, they're members of my department and I don't see the harm in socializing when they're not on duty. I'm sure they'll be happy to see new faces."

"So there are ladies there, right?" Wilmington asked.

"Of the twenty-four people assigned there, eleven are women, yes."

"Good, it'll be nice to talk to someone who smells better than these yahoos."

Jack's grin grew wide as he watched Daniel's eyebrows furrow. "Well, actually," Daniel said, leaning forward, "most of the people there spend their days digging in the dirt and living pretty rough, so I'm not too sure they'll smell any better than you."

"Hell, long as their voices are soft and they're up for conversation, I don't really care what they smell like. Long as it ain't them," Buck said, sweeping his hand around the table.

"Why thank you Mr. Wilmington, but you aren't exactly wonderful companionship yourself, you do realize?"

"Ezra..."

"I got a question," Tanner said softly, interrupting Wilmington before he could get too loud.

Jack turned to him and nodded, a little surprised Tanner actually might ask for something.

"Can I get some of them green clothes 'ya got? That place looks mighty green. Don't like 'ta stick out. Makes it hard to sneak up on animals I aim 'ta kill'n'eat."

Okay, the sense of humor wasn't all that surprising, but Jack could swear Tanner's accent wasn't that bad the last time he talked to him. Or any time he talked to him... but Tanner looked innocent... at the moment. "Sure, you can borrow some of the green fatigues," Jack finally said. "Anyone else?"

A moment of silence with everyone looking to each other and Jack stood. "Great. Meet in your common room in an hour and we'll head out. We'll help you with any equipment you need help with then."

He watched as the men filed out of the room in small groups, ready to do some last minute organizing himself, but Larabee stayed behind and Jack readied himself for whatever was on his mind.

"So, if there's trouble..."

"There won't be."

"If there's trouble," Larabee started again. "What will you be doing when we're hightailing it back here?"

"Look," Jack said. He'd prepared himself for this particular argument. "Teal'c, the marines we're bringing and I will be protecting the science teams that are there. Your job is to cover Daniel while he opens the gate and to get back here. If you do that, then I won't have to worry about you, your men, or Daniel. And I'll know reinforcements are on the way."

Larabee hesitated, then gave a tight nod. It wouldn't be that easy, Jack knew, but appealing to Larabee's sense of logic would work, he knew that already.

"Chris, the planet's safe. We wouldn't be going there if it wasn't. I brought it up because there's always the possibility that something might change - and it's good to be prepared no matter how slight the chance, right?"

"True enough," Chris said, then nodded and headed out to join the others.

Jack had some things to do of his own before they could go and he headed off to his office to double check the supplies. He didn't plan much other than fishing and loafing around. Three days of R+R sounded perfect right now.

*****

Chris adjusted the straps on his pack so it sat a little more comfortably on his shoulders. He gave one last tug, then studied the group of men around him. All were still except for JD, who was also fidgeting with his pack. Buck reached out and slapped his hands away from the straps, then tightened them himself.

Chris looked to his right and Vin was right there where he belonged. Chris could feel the tension coming off Vin and wondered if anyone could feel his unease as well. 

Ezra, Nathan and Josiah stood by Buck and JD, just waiting for things to start moving along. Daniel, O'Neill and Teal'c stood talking quietly to the three guards who were coming along.

At first, it pissed Chris off, knowing they were bringing guards, but O'Neill must have been getting used to Chris' body language and he stepped in to explain quietly. He'd said the guards were coming along only to guard their camp at night so they could all relax. They were bringing liquor and if they planned on sitting around a campfire drinking, well, they needed someone to watch their backs, even if it was a safe world. The guards would have their own vacation during the day and evening. Chris couldn't fault the logic behind the reasoning and shrugged off his concerns. He really was starting to believe that for some of the people here, at least, the intentions behind the actions were good. He planned on using some of this time to get O'Neill alone and find out what was really going on out there. 

"Don't see nothing but a big circle and a wall," Vin muttered.

Chris nodded to let Vin know he heard and agreed.

O'Neill stepped out in front and raised his hand in the air to get their attention. "Everyone set?" He looked around, then nodded up to the people behind the glass. 

Chris didn't think he'd ever get used to the voices coming out of the walls, but at least he didn't jump out of his boots, on the outside anyway, when he heard it. JD still did though, and Chris couldn't help smiling a little at JD and Buck's antics when Buck grabbed JD's pack and pulled him back.

Buck had one hand fisted in the kid's shirt and the other arm outstretched, pointing. "You're not supposed to go past that spot right there, JD. I aim to get out there, do some swimmin', some socializin' and some sippin' so don't you go messing up."

JD shrugged free from Buck's grip and turned to face him. "How many times do I need to tell you that I'm not some green kid just off the stage any more, Buck!"

"I guess once you start acting like you ain't one!"

Chris listened as the voice counted off numbers and Buck and JD went round in circles. Slowly, over the past weeks, Buck got JD interested in life again. The kid still wasn't his normally quick to smile self, but at least he'd do more than lie in bed and stare at the walls. It'd take time, Chris knew. Time and good friends. If anyone could do it, Buck could. And focusing on a friend kept Buck's mind off his own grief and loss.

The big wheel spun some, an alarm sounded and Chris nearly lost his cool the way he never did when bullets were flying around him because a great blue light, almost like water, came shooting out of the wheel straight at them. It expanded, then contracted and the wall behind the wheel was out of sight, hidden behind what looked like water.

"Dear God!" muttered Josiah.

Chris turned and looked at his men instead of the wall of water, catching a glimpse of Buck and JD on the ground in a tangle of limbs before he swept his gaze over Josiah, Nathan and Ezra. Nathan's eyes were round as saucers, Josiah crossed himself and Ezra stood there silently, the only sign of his distress his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed.

Chris looked for Vin, but he was already moving toward the water, hand out, ready to touch it. 

"Tanner!" O'Neill shouted just as Chris stepped forward to follow Vin. "Daniel and Teal'c first."

Vin stopped moving as Chris stepped next to him.

"We've done this hundreds of times," Dr. Jackson said. "It'll be fine." He and Teal'c turned and stepped into the water and disappeared.

"Holy mother," Josiah muttered, louder this time and Chris didn't turn back. 

He glanced at Vin and Vin nodded to him and they walked forward together. 

Cold. Nothingness - it could have been seconds or years and suddenly he was standing on a platform, bright sunshine, blue sky and fresh air. A split second later and Vin was stepping through the water and at his side.

"Down here," Daniel called and Chris remembered to get out of the way before the rest of them followed.

Ezra stepped through next and hurried over to their sides, not looking at them, looking back at where they'd come from instead.

Buck and JD came next, then Josiah and Nathan. As quick as they stepped through, each pair went to join Chris and Vin, until all seven were standing side by side.

The three guards came next, then that contraption on wheels that held all their supplies. It rolled down the ramp under its own steam, coming to a stop in front of Dr. Jackson and Teal'c.

O'Neill stepped through last, holding the controls to the sled. Jack looked at each of them before calling out, "Everyone all right?" He didn't wait for an answer, just nodded and said, "Good."

Chris took his time looking around - it didn't look all that different than parts of Earth he'd seen in his travels. But it didn't look anything at all like the New Mexico territory, especially the trees towering in the distance. He'd read of trees that big, once reports from the new settlements out west and up north started showing up in the newspapers. Where he was from in Illinois, they had big trees, but not ones that seemed to touch the sky itself.

"Never seen nothing like that," Vin whispered as he too stared off into the distance.

"Let's go," O'Neill called out. "We've got a long walk ahead of us. Just over ten clicks to be exact and we've only got about three hours of daylight left."

"What's a click?" JD asked.

Good question and Chris made sure he listened.

"A click is a kilometer and ten kilometers is about six and a quarter miles," Daniel said as he unhooked some straps and pulled bags off the sled. He pulled out gun-belts and started handing them out, waiting for each man to step forward and claim his.

"Still don't understand why we couldn't bring the horses," Vin muttered. 

"You want to scare that mule of yours to his grave? Could you see him walking through that wall of water?"

"Woulda blindfolded him. My horse would have done it, not too sure about yours though. Always thought he was a bit of a sissy."

"That's my horse you're talking about, Tanner," Chris growled, having a good time with their old argument. They both took pride in their horses, sometimes a little too much.

Chris stepped forward and grabbed his gun-belt, waiting for Vin to give him grief about his fancy rig too, but Vin only had eyes for his own gun-belt, dangling from Dr. Jackson's hand.

They all set to strapping on their rigs and Chris took his time settling it just right on his hip. He'd been too long without it, that was for sure.

"Vin?" Daniel called and Chris looked up to see a gun case come out of the pack.

"Is this yours?" 

The Stutz rifle. Chris almost forgot he'd packed it when they set out to find Vin. He'd brought it just in case once they had Vin free of the gang, they needed to pick off anyone giving chase.

"Do you want to carry it or leave it on the MALP?"

Vin didn't answer Daniel, instead looked to Chris and smiled. "Didn't know you brought that," he said quietly.

"Thought you'd want it for when we got you loose. Just in case any of them were stupid enough to give chase."

"Thanks," Vin said quietly and flashed him a bright smile that had been missing since they arrived in this time. With that one word and just a smile, Chris knew this trip would be good for Vin. Good for getting his mind off what had been plaguing him lately and maybe let him get his bearings enough to start moving forward.

"Leave it there," Vin called out to Dr. Jackson. "Got enough to carry."

"I've got something else for you," Daniel said and motioned Vin forward. As soon as Vin left Chris' side, Ezra was right there taking his place.

"Mr. Larabee, it is indeed fortuitous that you brought along that rifle."

Chris studied Ezra, not quite sure where he was going.

"That rifle was quite valuable in our time. I can only image what it is worth now, as an antique in perfect working order."

"That's Vin's rifle."

"I do believe I could make a case for it belonging to all of us, Chris."

"I'm sure you could, Ezra. But it doesn't." Chris shook his head. He should have seen it coming. Ezra had awfully convenient ideas of what was his and what was theirs.

Ezra blew an exaggerated sigh. "I'm trying to prepare for our future. It is, in all likelihood, the most valuable of all of our possessions. I would go as far as to say that it is more valuable than the rest of our possessions, including our horses - combined."

Chris stepped closer, crossed his arms and looked Ezra in the eye.

"If it comes to it and we have the need, Vin'll sell that rifle in a minute. He'll make the decision to do what's best for all of us. That's just one difference between the two of you. He doesn't always think of himself first," Chris said, looking over Ezra's shoulders at Vin, watching him fiddle with the equipment tied to that wheeled thing.

"Mr. Larabee, you wound me," Ezra replied, his back stiff.

Chris grinned, and he was sure it wasn't pretty. "If it was something of yours that turned out to be worth something here, you wouldn't be so fast to start using words like 'ours', and you can't deny it."

Ezra's mouth opened then closed before he turned on his heel to join Nathan and Josiah. Chris chuckled. Hell, Ezra had a point that these were circumstances beyond what any of them could have imagined, and that it could come to it that they'd need to pool resources to survive. But Chris knew damn good and well that the only reason Ezra was talking about community belongings was because he just happened not to have much of value himself. 

Chris had just the other day overheard Daniel explaining that yes, Ezra's ten-cent notes were worth about thirty dollars to collectors these days, only to have to further explain that no, thirty dollars would not pay for a meal at the best eatery in the city. That had been Ezra's sad, practical lesson in inflation, and Chris had no doubt it was the reason Ezra had turned his eyes to Vin's rifle.

"Hey, Chris," Buck called out from where the other five men were gathered around Dr. Jackson. 

Chris shook his head, ignoring Ezra's sour expression, and took his time approaching the rest of them, looking around the clearing. It was deserted, except for the ring - or Stargate - but ruins surrounded it. Off in the distance, the trees fitting for Jack And The Beanstalk on one side, mountains on the other and flat planes stretched off on the other two sides. No sign of camp or the ocean they were headed for. But six miles was a long ways off, especially on foot.

"Lookee here, Chris," Buck held out a pair of spectacles and Chris raised a brow at him.

"They're to block out the sun," Dr. Jackson said as he held a pair out to Chris. 

Chris took the offered pair, but stowed them in a pocket. He had his hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. Vin and JD put theirs on though. JD's hat didn't keep out much sun, but Chris couldn't figure out why Vin would wear a pair of spectacles when he had the vision of a hawk.

"Let's head out," O'Neill called and they all fell into place, in small groups, for their hike. 

It was warm, but not the unpleasantly hot warm that cooked a man. The air was heavy and humid - it reminded Chris of home - funny he could still think of Illinois as home after all this time - and he fell into place next to Vin, bringing up the rear.

"Wonder how long Bucklin will hold out in his boots," Vin said softly, turning to look at Chris, a familiar little smile in place.

"Pride will keep him in them long after sense should tell him to put on the boots they gave him." Chris watched Vin out of the corner of his eye, trying not to let on he was watching. 

"You can put your eyeballs back in your face," Vin said a few minutes later.

Chris didn't say anything, just kept walking, but this time, he watched the scenery instead of his partner.

"Shit!"

Chris looked over, but Vin wasn't there. "You know," he said as he took a couple steps back and reached down to haul Vin to his feet, "If you looked where you were going instead of up at the sky, you might be able to stay on your feet instead of your ass."

"Funny, Larabee, real funny," Vin said as he stood and dusted himself off.

"Good to be outside, huh?" Chris asked a few minutes later.

"Was startin to feel the walls closing in on me, Chris. Felt like I couldn't hardly draw a breath sometimes. A man can only take so much sittin around."

Chris turned to Vin to answer, but had to look over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of him.

"You hanging back for a reason?"

Vin looked ahead to the others then grinned at Chris. "Yer ass looks nice in them pants, Chris. The blue suits ya."

"Your turn to walk ahead," Chris said softly.

"Can't wait till we got camp set up and we can go off on our own." Vin said as he caught up to walk side by side again.

"You see that happening?"

"Hell, Chris. I'm going to make it happen. Gonna take advantage of the privacy. Thought you'd be the one to bring it up, the way you don't like ta be around people, most times."

"Me? I think you're getting us confused there, pard."

"Hell, I like being around people I know -- it's looking out for strangers in crowds makes me nervous. You're the one can't sit in a saloon for an hour without starting a fight."

Chris shook his head and kept walking. By his reckoning, they'd be there soon. It didn't take all that long to walk six miles.

"Smell that?" Vin asked.

Chris took a deep breath. Funny, but the air didn't smell all that different from home. Should have been easier to tell they were on a different planet, but it wasn't. "Can't smell anything out of the ordinary."

"Salt. I never been near an ocean before."

"I've been to the Gulf of Mexico, during the war. Was on a campaign in Louisiana, spent almost a year in New Orleans."

"I knew that," Vin said with a little smile. 

Only person who knew more about him was Buck. And only because Buck was there for most of it. Chris shoved away any deep thoughts and fell back into step with Vin. 

He looked over and caught him looking back but he looked ahead again before locking eyes for too long. If he did that, they'd end up taking an unscheduled break and he really didn't think he'd want O'Neill or Daniel to come looking for them during that kind of break.

"It's good to see you smiling again," Chris said after a few minutes of silent marching. 

"Weren't nothing to smile about before. Hell, Chris, you know me. I like my life simple." Vin hip checked him, almost knocking him over. "Ain't cause I'm simple, so keep can your smart remarks to yourself."

"I wasn't going to say a word."

"Sure ya weren't. Anyways, I've been actin like a little kid ain't been gettin his way. We're all in this together and I been actin like I only got me to look out for, still."

"And Ezra started a fight because he's bored, or as he put it - 'sorely lacking stimulation' -- and Buck's picking at JD and Josiah and Nathan are talking about the meaning of life like they have one bit of damn say in the matter."

"Yeah, and you're trying to run the place."

"No I'm not."

"Yeah you are. It's one of the things makes me like ya. You don't even think you're doing it, Chris."

"Wrong."

"Hell, them damn guards practically come to attention when you walk down the halls and you know it!"

Chris slowed down again, watching as the others went round a bend in the road. He came to a stop and turned his attention to Vin. "One of the things you like about me, huh?" he nearly whispered, keeping his distance.

"Yup. You make such a spectacle of yerself that I get to sit back and watch. You're a good distraction."

"I'll give you a distraction," Chris growled as he stepped closer to Vin.

A whistle from ahead of them had them jumping back again.

"Buck needs to mind his own business," Chris muttered as he and Vin picked up their pace to catch up with the others.

"He's looking out for ya. I'll never know what you did to get him bound to you like he is, will I?"

How could he explain so Vin would understand? It wasn't any one thing or two things... it was shared history... time put in - a million and a half little things added up into a friendship that could survive almost anything. Make that a friendship that had survived anything. And a friendship that let them pick each other to pieces and kept 'em coming back for more. They paid their dues and they could say things to each other that would have led to shootouts if they said them to anyone else.

There was no explanation Vin would understand. But what the hell, the still had a couple more miles by his reckoning. "What were you doing fifteen years ago, Vin?"

Vin gave him a little sideways glance. "You serious?"

"I'm answering your question."

"You know what I was doing."

"Just answer the question so I can answer yours."

"Fine. I was in the orphanage, still. Hadn't escaped yet."

"Right, that's my point. It was a long time ago. Lot's changed since then, right? You've met a lot of people in those fifteen years, right? Been a lot of different places, lived lots of different ways."

Vin thought about it some, then shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose."

"You ever known anyone that long? Knew one person through it all?"

"You know I ain't, Chris. Three years with y'all is the longest I stayed in one place since my pa passed and you know it."

"Don't go getting riled on me - you asked a question and I'm answering it best I know how. All right, so there isn't any one thing keeps me and Buck together. It was not doing anything to make us hate each other until we were friends long enough for it not to matter any more. Now he's family."

Vin went quiet and Chris concentrated on hiking. He couldn't help looking at Vin every few minutes. It was odd to see him wearing those dark spectacles and funny clothes. But he was still Vin. 

"Gotta be more to it than that," Vin said quietly.

"What?"

"You an Buck. Got to be more to it than you growin on each other like mold."

He couldn't help the loud laughter, it just started coming out. Hell, if that wasn't the best way to put it, he didn't know what was. 

"You going hysterical on me again?" Vin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, just struck me funny." Chris kept walking, still not looking at Vin. He really didn't know how to explain what Vin wanted to know. He let a sigh slip out. "There is more to it... but I don't know any other way to explain it."

"Didn't mean to worry on it, just curious is all."

"Speaking of the devil," Chris muttered as they rounded a bend and JD came into view, then Buck. Buck sat on a boulder, peeling his boots off his feet while JD paced in front of him.

"He made it longer than I thought he would," Vin whispered. "His boots ain't made for walking."

"C'mon, let's get them moving again or we won't ever get there."

Vin nodded his agreement and picked up the pace.


	20. 20

*****  
Chris leaned back against the logs and crossed his arms over his belly - his very full belly. Best meal he'd had in ages. Steaks over an open fire, potatoes wrapped in tin and cooked right in the coals and some pan bread. He was ready to doze off, a little whiskey in him helping in that regard as well.

He listened to the sounds around him, feeling more content than he'd had in what seemed like years but was really less than a month. 

Camp all set up, tents scattered around, his men grouped around him, guards on duty so they didn't have to be; he could pretend he didn't have a care in the world. Any world. 

Vin dozed next to him, jumping every now and then when he'd startle awake. Old habits died hard; Chris knew that as well as any man. He'd had a hell of a time giving up his gun, earlier. But he didn't want to fight with anyone. And O'Neill wasn't about to give in without a fight, Chris was sure of it. Seemed a little tetched, if he was honest about it. No booze unless the guns were put away and locked. 

What kind of fool idea was that, anyway? But O'Neill got a look in his eye that told Chris he meant business. He'd seemed pretty easy-going for the most part, so far, but this once, Chris saw the core of the man. And he wouldn't be backing down.

As soon as Chris took off his gun-belt, the rest of them followed suit. All but that damned hard-headed tracker. 'I won't be drinkin, no matter how good some rotgut'd taste about now,' he'd said and that was that. His mare's leg was still strapped to his side.

Vin jumped in his sleep again and Chris shifted just a bit closer. He looked across the fire to see Ezra studying him and Vin and Chris couldn't for the life of him figure out what was going on in that devious mind. Probably nothing too nefarious, Ezra really had changed over the past three years, but get him with his back in a corner and glimpses of the old Ezra would come through. 

His scheming and planning would be helpful, if he'd just keep it directed in the right place... meaning to the world at large and not within their group. 

Buck leaned over and passed him the bottle and Chris took a long swig from it. He held it for a few minutes, planning on a couple more shots before passing it on to Dr. Jackson, who lazed a few feet past Vin.

He was thinking about passing it on when Buck nudged him.

"Send it back this way, pard," Buck said, motioning toward the bottle. 

Chris glanced over to Daniel and watched as he pulled a tool out of one of his many pockets.

"Wine opener," he said and held it up for Chris to see. "I... uhm... I prefer wine," he said with a shrug.

"Ah, a man of refined taste," Ezra said as he strolled over to take a seat next to Daniel. "You did bring something with which to drink from, did you not? Civilized men do not pass communal bottles around a fire." 

Chris ignored the dig and upended the bottle, taking a huge swig before wiping his face with his hand and passing the bottle to Buck, who mirrored his actions.

"While not exactly Waterford Crystal, these cups are better than nothing," Ezra sighed out.

"I don't see what you're complaining about, Ezra," JD nearly shouted. "Best damn meal I ever ate... well outside my Mom's Christmas goose and Nettie's Thanksgiving spread. And well... well... it's the best camp meal I ever ate!" 

Kid was two sheets to the wind already and Chris couldn't help smiling. JD elbowed Buck, motioning for the bottle and Chris leaned forward and took it from Buck again.

JD pouted at him, but kept his mouth shut, leaning toward Josiah, trying to grab the bottle from his hands. Josiah ignored him and passed his bottle across Teal'C and to Nathan. O'Neill completed their circle, between Nathan and now, Ezra, who'd sunk down to take the spot next to Dr. Jackson.

"A toast," Ezra said.

Chris couldn't help snorting. He didn't see much to toast about, but everyone else went quiet and waited for Ezra to go on.

"As I said, a toast. To new beginnings and new alliances." Ezra raised his cup directly at Chris and Chris saluted him with the bottle before taking a swig and handing it back to Buck.

"Why Dr. Jackson," Ezra drawled, voice as smooth as honey. "This wine is superb. French?"

"Californian, actually. California wines rival the French, these days."

"And we're boycotting the French," Jack piped up.

"No we're not, Jack."

"Well, we're not, but some people are."

"Yes, well, someone's always boycotting something," Daniel snorted. He looked up and frowned when he saw everyone watching him. He shrugged and said, "Nevermind, it's too complicated to go into right now."

"Actually, Dr. Jackson, this is a perfect opportunity to enlighten us," Ezra said as he refilled his wine-mug. "Campfires are the natural setting for storytelling, n'cest pas?"

"Jack?" Dr Jackson asked, eyebrow raised.

Chris watched the byplay between Jackson and O'Neill, wondering just how long they'd known each other. They had the air of people who knew everything about each other, didn't always agree, but worked it out anyway. Every once in a while, he caught a glimpse of something that told him their relationship was more like the one he shared with Vin than the one he shared with Buck, but those feelings were fleeting. Most of the time, he was sure they were nothing more than best friends. Other times, he was sure they acted like an old married couple.

No matter their relationship, it was one he'd respect.

"Jack?" Daniel asked again.

"Right, stories. I've got a nice scary campfire story."

Chris nudged Vin, pretty sure he'd want to hear this. Vin stirred and when Chris stared at him long enough to see him in the darkness, he could see the reflection from the fire sparkling in Vin's eyes. He'd probably been mostly awake the whole time.

"We came here through the Stargate -- well, there's a whole network of Stargates that connect thousands of planets with each other." 

"But we've only been to a few hundred," Daniel interrupted.

"Right. Well, other races-- beings from other planets-- also use the Stargate network. As I told Chris, some are allies, some aren't."

"When you say aren't, you mean they're enemies?" Buck asked.

"Some of them. But the worst are the Goa'uld."

"Just the name is scary," JD added.

"Right. They've been coming to Earth and stealing people to use as slaves for thousands of years."

"They the ones took us?" Vin asked quietly.

"Uhm... Daniel?"

Daniel cleared his throat before answering, telling Chris already that the answer wasn't simple. "The Asgard are the ones who took you. Well an Asgard, anyway. They're usually our allies but the one who took you was rogue."

"So just how many races are there out there who have the power to come to Earth whenever they feel like it and just take who they want?" Nathan asked. Chris was thinking the same thing, seeing as it'd happened to them personally.

Jack's face scrunched a little, but he was quick to answer. "Just a few, but the ones we have to worry about are the Goa'uld. They like to pretend to be gods. They are way more technologically advanced than we are and if it weren't for the Asgard, they probably would have destroyed Earth by now."

"They can do that?" Nathan asked.

"Easily. Like I said, their level of technology is so far ahead of ours. They have space ships-- ships that can fly from planet to planet-- that could destroy every single city on Earth from the sky..."

"What are we doing sitting around here, then!" Buck nearly shouted. "Shouldn't we be doing something?"

"Easy, big fella," Jack said, with just a hint of a grin. "That is what we do. We, as in everyone at the SGC. Usually. I mean, we've been at it for years now, and everyone needs a break now and then." 

"Years? How many?" Chris asked, finally getting something of a handle on the war he'd been sensing going on.

"We've known about them for about eight years now, and we've been actively defending Earth, and fighting them, for about seven years," Daniel answered.

"So there is such a thing as defending against them?" Josiah asked. "You've made it sound pretty bleak."

"Yes, we have some ways to defend ourselves, but not as much so if they bring those ships here," Daniel said, earning a subtle kick in the boots from Jack. "But they won't bring ships as long as the Asgard are around," Daniel then added quickly. 

"You sure only one of them Asgard is rogue?" Vin piped in softly.

"We're pretty sure, yeah," Daniel answered him, but looked around at all of them, probably knowing the seven of them might not be too trusting of those Asgard just yet.

Jack coughed a little and leaned forward, staring into the fire for a second before he spoke. "Uhm... there's more about the Goa'uld you should know."

"I don't think there's much more to be said once you've told us they can kill every single person on the planet without even stepping foot on it." Chris said quietly.

"Wellllll....." Jack looked to Daniel and the two shared a silent communication. 

"The Goa'uld are a parasitic race." Daniel said. "They infect humans and use them as hosts."

"I don't get it," JD said.

Jack's eyes narrowed and his tone went cold. "In their own bodies, they look like snakes and they can't survive outside a host. So they invade human bodies and take them over. They wrap themselves around your insides and you can't get them out. Then they make you do things like torture your friends and try to take over the Universe. The entire time, the original human is in there, having to watch what the snake is doing, but not in control."

"Sounds like demons," Josiah whispered.

"Hmmm. In a sense," Daniel answered.

"I don't like this story any more." JD said quietly.

"So if'n they look like people, how do you know they're really those snake things?"

"Sometimes you don't," Daniel said.

"Their eyes glow," Jack added. "And their voices are weird. And they're usually trying to kill you. Or torture you. That's usually the clincher."

"So what happens to a man if one of them gets in him?" Chris asked.

Jack and Daniel shared a glance Chris didn't miss. 

"So if one of these gets in you, you're a dead man, then?" Chris clarified.

"In most cases, yes."

"No exorcism?" Josiah said.

"No exorcism," Daniel answered. "There's technology out there-- Asgard technology on another planet we've been to, but it's not easy to get a Goa'uld there. Once they're inside a person, it's almost impossible to capture the Goa'uld to force them there in order to use that technology to free the person."

They were all silent for a moment, the only noise the crackle of the fire.

"How do they get in you?" Vin asked after a while.

Jack looked to Daniel, gave him a short nod, and Daniel went on.

"Usually through the back of your neck, sometimes the front or through your mouth. They burrow into your body and attach themselves to your brain stem and spinal cord."

"What did you mean by 'pretend to be gods'?" Josiah asked.

"Are you familiar with ancient cultures and Gods? Egyptian, mostly?"

"I know some of the stories."

"Some of the ancient Egyptian Gods were actually Goa'uld. Ra, Isis, Osiris, Setesh, Hathor."

"Sweet mother," Josiah muttered, and Chris saw the big man shudder.

"What do they want?" JD asked, pulling his coat tighter around himself.

"Want?" Jack said, shaking his head. "It's... they..."

"May I answer, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack nodded and Chris turned his attention to Teal'c. He'd been unnaturally quiet and he was an unknown entity - apart from being part of O'Neill's team.

"I was in service to the false God Apophis for many years. My people are born to serve the false guards and serve as their slaves and armies."

"You're one of them?" Nathan asked, eyes going wide.

"I no longer serve the Goa'uld and I have sworn my allegiance to the Tauri."

"Who?" Buck asked.

"Us," Jack answered for Teal'c.

"The Goa'uld seek power and dominance. They wish to conquer new territory and to have all whom they encounter serve them."

"So how do they decide who to kill, who make a slave and who to uhm... go inside of?" Vin asked. 

"They are a vain race and when they capture Tauri, the most physically attractive of the captives are shown to a larval Goa'uld who then chooses its own host."

"If I am ever unfortunate enough to come into contact with one, I wish to be shot," Ezra drawled.

"I do believe that of all of you, VinTanner would be in most jeopardy of being taken as a host." Teal'c said.

"I'd kill myself first." 

"It won't ever come to that," Jack said quickly. 

Teal'c raised his eyebrow in a way that said to Chris, 'Don't make promises you can't keep,' before going on out loud. "While most Goa'uld do prefer young, attractive hosts, some do prefer hosts who are older and would command respect from the other Goa'uld. They are most concerned with the physical forms of their hosts as that is who they will become."

"Don't forget they like to take personal slaves, too," Jack added, helpfully. "Daniel got to play the part during a mission once."

"Well, yes... let's not get into that right now, Jack." Daniel toed a little of the dirt in front of him before taking a gulp of his wine.

"What kind of personal slaves?" Chris wanted to know, especially seeing Daniel's nervous reaction.

"Wait a minute," Buck said. "I don't want to get near enough to one of these things to ever find out. Hell, with my animal magnetism, they'd want to be me, never mind Vin!"

Chris snorted. Talk about vain.

"I do believe you are mistaken, BuckWilmington. The Goa'uld I have known prefer to take hosts who are what you would call 'pretty'. Though ChrisLarabee would also be in danger of being taken as a host."

Chris whipped his head in Teal'c's direction. 

"If a powerful Goa'uld needed a new host and wanted to project domination, then ChrisLarabee would probably be chosen. But you are speaking as if it is an honor to be chosen. It is not. It is a living death."

Chris shuddered, hard. The thought of any of them-- especially he and Vin-- being taken over by one of those snakes made his skin crawl.

"Can we please not talk about this any more? It's not like we're ever going to meet any of these things. Right? Right?"

"Most likely not, JD," Daniel said. "But it's always a possibility when you go offworld."

"We've run into a couple on Earth, too. If you're staying at the SGC, you're at risk and you need to know about them," Jack added, his expression apologetic.

Daniel shifted a little before jumping in. "We know it's a lot to take in, especially since you guys have had so much to deal with already, but Jack's right, you really did need to be told. I think we can leave it at this for now, though."

Chris looked around at the others and saw grimness in the men's faces that matched what he felt. Daniel and Jack did the right thing, telling them, but Chris did wish they'd had a little more time to enjoy the peace and outdoors before they were hit with all this.

He looked back at Vin again, watched him settle back to the position he'd been in before he'd been roused to hear this campfire story. Chris knew, though, that Vin wouldn't actually sleep any more than he had earlier. Vin knew as well as he did that there was a lot more to learn, and it wouldn't be good.

*****

Chris watched Dr. Jackson call Nathan aside and step outside of the light of the fire. A mystery, that's what he had on his hands now. First Josiah, then Buck was called away and he returned shaken to the core. He sat down without a word and grabbed the bottle they'd been sharing.

Chris tried to watch Nathan and Daniel, but the light wasn't strong enough to read their expressions.

A few minutes later and they were back, Nathan looking grim, but not upset. JD was next and Chris turned to Buck.

"What's going on?" he asked softly.

"Not now, all right, Chris? I gotta think."

Chris nodded. It wasn't his way to pry. With most people, it was because he didn't care, but not with Buck. Buck would tell him, he was sure of that. Just a matter of when.

Chris turned his attention back to Daniel and JD, then settled back in to get comfortable. While they'd set up a tent, he and Vin were going to sleep out. Vin walked off a few minutes before and Chris was about to follow him when he came back into camp.

He settled in next to Chris, close, but not close enough to touch. "Feels like rain," he said.

"You want to sleep inside?"

"Let's see if it rains first, all right?"

"If it starts raining, I'm sleeping in."

"Fine," Vin said, a grin twitching on his lips. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Jackson's pulling people aside. So far, Buck, Josiah, Nathan and now JD."

They shared a look, then went back to watching JD and Daniel. A few minutes later, JD came back into the circle of firelight. Tears ran down his face freely and he collapsed next to Buck.

"Vin?" Daniel called out and Vin stood to meet with him.

"Want company?" Chris asked.

"Nah, see what's wrong with Buck and JD. I'll be fine."

Chris watched him go before turning back to Buck.

"You okay, kid?" Buck asked JD.

JD shook his head no and the three of them were silent again. Ezra sat a few feet away, propped against a log, working on his second bottle of wine. He nodded to Chris when he caught him looking and Chris nodded back.

The quiet was shattered by Buck. "I can't believe it!" he nearly yelled.

Chris held out the bottle and Buck took it, taking a long drink before handing it back to Chris. 

"I can't believe it, Chris!"

"What, Buck?"

"Inez!"

That got Ezra's attention and he moved closer to the rest of them. O'Neill moved closer as well.

"Daniel's catching you guys up?" O'Neill asked.

Before Buck could answer, Josiah called from across the fire, "Nathan and I are going for a little walk, then we're turning in."

Various 'goodnights' floated through the air and Chris turned back to Buck.

"What about Inez?" Chris prompted him.

"She married Percival!" he finally yelled.

"The telegraph clerk?"

"Do you know any other Percivals?"

Chris shook his head and was about to ask how the hell Buck knew that when a shout from Vin had him on his feet.

Vin reached out and pushed whatever Daniel was trying to hand him away and stalked off into the darkness.

"What the hell is Jackson doing?" Chris nearly shouted.

"He's giving information about what happened to the people you left behind, Chris. He's not doing anything wrong."

"Ah, Colonel O'Neill, if Mr. Tanner is in disagreement with another party, Mr. Larabee will invariably think he is the injured party. You see, our fearless leader has a rather large blind spot when it comes to Mr. Tanner's faults."

"That so, Ezra?" Chris growled as he sat back down. "Just keep talking," he warned.

Of course, Ezra ignored it. "Well I doubt you would find Mr. Tanner's unique sense of justice so acceptable if one of us were to implement his technique of meting out said justice."

"Ezra, you've had too much to drink and you'd best think long and hard before you open your mouth again." 

Ezra looked away, and wisely kept his mouth closed. Chris turned his attention back to Daniel and Vin, but Vin was gone and Daniel was heading back to the fire.

"Ezra, Vin doesn't really have any faults, if you think about it."

Ezra nearly spilled his wine and he let out a rather undignified snort. "That's right, JD, you were in town during that particular expedition, and weren't there witness the further evidence of Mr. Tanner's savage upbringing. It was the Comanche influence, if I'm not mistaken--"

"Ezra," Chris said low in his throat, and stalked over to him. He loomed over the other man, knowing that this time just telling him wasn't going to be good enough. Chris knew exactly what Ezra was talking about and he was prepared to shut his mouth the hard way, if necessary. It wasn't a topic for discussion. 

Lots of little things clicked into place at that moment, as Chris stared into an expression that flickered anger, defiance, and a satisfyingly healthy amount of fear. Chris finally understood why he and Ezra had been at loggerheads so often lately.

Damned man should have just come out and said something. That was two months ago. Chris had hoped all that was done and over with, and behind them. Should have known better.

Chris made a point of not looking at O'Neill to check how closely he was listening. This was not something they were going to talk about among strangers. Especially strangers like O'Neill who very well may not have understood Vin's sense of justice, either. Instead, he took a seat closer to Buck-- but still within easy striking difference of Ezra. Maybe he could keep Ezra quiet and find out what Buck had found out, at the same time.

"So, Buck, what the hell happened with Inez?" Chris asked.

Buck scrubbed his hands over his face, then finally blurted it out. "Inez married Percival. That... that... that... well, I'm not sure what he is, Chris, but he ain't a man!"

"Start at the beginning, Buck," Chris sighed out. He wanted to be out looking for Vin, but Vin would come to him when he was ready to talk.

"She married Percival six months after we disappeared!"

"And?" Chris asked, pushing for more.

"Whaddaya mean, and?"

"Buck, remember the rest, or have you latched on to that one piece of information?" Daniel said quietly.

Buck's eyes went wide. "She had a baby two months later... eight months after we disappeared. That was my baby!"

"Congratulations, Buck," Chris said, dryly. 

"She married Percival because of the baby."

"Well, they stayed married, though," Daniel said.

"I had a daughter." 

Buck still looked dazed and Chris extended a cheroot to him. "Best I can do, Buck."

"I still can't believe she married Percival! Any one of a dozen men would have married her!"

"It kind of fits, if you think about it," JD said.

"How the hell does that fit? She had a man like me and then she married Percival? Hell, JD, he's shorter than you and skinnier than Vin! Man doesn't even carry a gun and couldn't do an honest day's work if he had two days to do it in!"

"And what the hell do you know about an honest day's work, Buck?" JD needled.

"Percival? Percival? Good thing my baby wasn't a boy... he wouldn't have a man around the house to learn from. Hell, I could have sworn I saw ole Percy mooning after Vin!"

"What?" Chris sputtered.

"I could be wrong... and nothing wrong with it if he was, right? Vin's a man any man would admire. Maybe ole Percy just wanted to be more like Vin. Nobody messed with Vin like they did him..."

Chris wasn't about to let Buck off the hook but JD interrupted before he could make him squirm.

"Like I said, Buck, it fits."

"Come again?"

"Well, Inez never would have agreed to court you if it wasn't for Percy."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"She saw it when you stuck up for him against James' ranch hands."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Buck grated, his arms flung wide.

"Well when you took up for her, she thought you did it to get in her bloomers. When you took up for Percy, she realized you took up for anyone who didn't deserve what they were getting from bullies."

"That doesn't make sense, JD."

"It makes perfect sense, Buck!" JD yapped, snatching the bottle from Buck.

"Kid's got a point, Buck. You took up for him. Surprised he didn't moon after you, after that."

Buck gave him a sour look before he went on yammering again. "Hell, the wimp doesn't even know how to shoot a gun and them three cowboys were picking on him 'cause they were bored and drunk. Don't take a man to pick on someone half your size."

"That's what I mean, Buck. You are so thick! Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Yeah, JD, I guess you do!"

"You defended Inez against Don Paulo. She thought you did it so she would court you. Are you following me?"

"I did it because he would have hurt her."

"I know that Buck, but she didn't. All she ever saw was you chasing any woman who wanted to be caught."

"And your point, JD?"

"The point is, you were willing to get in a gunfight to stop them three cowhands from beating Percival. She saw that and the very next week, she thawed out towards you. Don't take a genius to figure it out, Buck."

"You're saying because I didn't want to see a fellow who never hurt nobody get beat up, Inez decided to court me?"

Chris decided enough was enough. Buck didn't understand and he wouldn't. "You took up for someone whose pants you didn't want to get into - maybe that's when she figured out that there was more to you than wanting in her britches." 

Buck growled and squeezed his head in his hands. "I got that much, you mangy dopes. What I don't get is what that has to do with marrying Percy! Just 'cause I took up for the little beanpole?"

JD shook his head. "It's 'cause she loved you, you fool. Percy is why she realized it, and once you were gone, nobody was gonna live up to you, so she went with the person who reminded her of how much she loved you. Get it now?"

Buck's shoulders slumped and he rested his head in the palms of his hands. His body shook, just a little, but enough for Chris to know why.

Chris handed the bottle back to Buck, and turned away, not wanting to bear witness to Buck's renewed grief. Intead, Chris stood and stretched. It was time to go find Vin. He was curious what Vin's news was, but also a little worried, if the others' reactions were anything to judge by; looked like so far, the news hadn't exactly been uplifting. He wasn't all that surprised he and Ezra hadn't gotten a talk, but what in the world did Vin find out? It wasn't like he had any family.

"Hey, Buck, wasn't Percy's family name White?" JD asked as Chris made his way from the fire.

"How the hell should I know?"

"My son married Cecelia White... what is your daughter's name?"

"Oh no..." Buck groaned out as Chris got out of earshot. 

Now wouldn't that be the funniest damn thing he'd heard in years... JD's son and Buck's daughter! It was a pretty small town, after all.

A rock skittered off to Chris' left and he glanced in the direction of the sound. A dark outline was clearly visible in the moonlight and Chris headed that way. 

Chris took a seat on the ground next to Vin. He lit up a cheroot and offered it to Vin. Vin didn't smoke often, but once in a while he'd indulge. He shook his head and Chris settled back to wait. He'd either tell him or he wouldn't.

"Ya ever wonder why people do the things they do?"

"Not usually."

"I can't figure out why they did it, Chris."

"Who?"

"Mizz Nettie, Casey and Mary."

Chris winced. The ladies weren't family, but Vin had looked after them as though they were. Chris was definitely beginning to dread what Vin had heard about them. "Maybe if you told me what they did, I could help you figure out the why, if the why's important to you."

"They cleared my name."

"What?" Well, that was a shock.

"They hired a Pinkerton and it took a few years, but the Pinkerton tracked down that phony Marshall and a couple others of Eli Joe's gang and he took 'em to Texas and they cleared my name."

"I don't know what to say." Chris was stunned, and he admitted to himself, a little awed.

"I don't get it, Chris. It didn't matter anymore - they thought we were all dead."

Chris looked closely at Vin's profile, the sadness there stabbing him in the gut. "They did it because it mattered to you and they cared about you."

"Weren't right of them to spend all that money."

Chris smiled a little. "I'm sure they didn't even think about the money, Vin."

Vin turned to face him, his eyes glittering in the moonlight. "I miss 'em."

Chris moved closer and leaned against Vin. "Me too. Didn't think I'd ever care about anyone enough ever again to miss them, but it looks like I was wrong."

Chris didn't care for them the same way Vin did, but he cared. More he thought on it, in fact, he cared about them because Vin did. It had always touched Chris a little to see the way Vin treated them, knowing as he had that Vin's fondness and protectiveness of them was so genuine. It was a rarely-seen side of Vin, but one that made him complete. Chris couldn't help but wonder how Vin would take it not having the women around to need him. Wasn't anybody around them now who needed that part of Vin the way Nettie, Mary and Casey had.

"It's starting to rain," Vin finally said, breaking the silence.

"We got another problem, Vin."

"What?"

Chris sighed. "Ezra. He isn't over what happened with that bounty hunter, Loch."

"Ain't any of his damn business."

Chris shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea if any of them here find out what you did."

Defiance glittered in Vin's eyes. "I'd do it again. I ain't sorry about it and I ain't lost a lick of sleep over it. Not over what I done, anyway."

Chris looked skyward a second, wanting to get his words right. "I still don't think it would be good if he told 'em. They wouldn't understand."

"And you do?"

Chris answered quickly, matter-of-fact. "Yeah, I do - even though you haven't told me everything. I know enough. Buck and Nathan dug up the kid's body."

"Let's go to bed, Chris. Rain's startin to come down harder." Vin stood, and looked up, eyes roving the darkness, and pointedly not looking at Chris.

Chris took the hint, and let the subject drop, but he had another one to bring up. "What was Daniel trying to give you that you pushed away?"

"You saw that?"

Chris nodded.

"A clipping of one of Mary's articles. You can get it from him and read it if ya want. Won't bother me none."

"Want me to read it to you?" Chris asked softly.

"He already did. Offered to help me improve my readin and writin when we get back."

"You going to take him up on it?" Chris was surprised, not sure how to take that offer yet.

"Don't know yet. I get by." Vin looked out into the darkness again, and Chris grinned. When it came to hints, he had Vin's completely locked.

"C'mon, let's go get in that fancy tent." He squeezed Vin's shoulder, and urged him to follow.

Vin snorted a little, but did follow. "Them people are making you soft, cowboy. First sign of rain, you're squawkin like Ezra."

Chris whipped his head around, and watched the mischief dance in Vin's eyes. "You'll pay for that one, Tanner."

"I reckon you're right," Vin chuckled.

Damned ornery tracker.


	21. 21

*****  
Warm breath in his ear, a heavy weight on his chest... dark... the sound of rain...

"Chris?" 

"Hmmmm?"

"I'm going scoutin'. You want to come?"

Chris blinked away the sleep from his eyes and finally opened them - to be met almost nose to nose with Vin. He shifted his weight a little, testing to see if Vin was holding him down or just resting on his chest. Resting, but the little movement drew a matching movement from Vin.

"It's still dark - and still raining." Chris said with a sigh. He stretched his limbs and Vin pulled his full weight onto of him, eye to eye.

"Rain's almost stopped and it should be light soon. "

"And just how do you know that? You don't know when sunrise is around here."

"Air feels like it does just before sunrise. Night critters are quiet and day critters are getting ready to greet the sun. Don't you pay attention to anything that ain't holdin a gun?" 

Chris looked up to meet Vin's eyes, sighing when he saw them wide open and sparkling. There would be no going back to sleep for Vin.

"You mind if I stick around here?"

Vin leaned down and snuggled into his neck, breathing in long and deep, then set to nibbling on his ear. Chris wrapped his arms around Vin's back... Vin's bare back he discovered... and held him close.

"Nah, don't mind going alone," Vin whispered in his ear. "Jist wanted you to know you're welcome to come along... not tryin to get away from you or nothin'."

"The thought didn't even cross my mind, Vin."

"Not even though I been actin like I can't stand the sight of any of y'all lately?"

Chris huffed out a breathy laugh into Vin's hair. "Well, not until you put it that way." He grabbed onto a handful of Vin's rump... his bare rump as his roving hand found out... and gave a gentle squeeze. "You woke me up to ask that?" He asked, starting a lazy massage of Vin's backside. 

Vin canted one knee, giving Chris better access, and rested his entire weight on him again. "Was kinda hoping if you didn't want to come along, maybe you'd want to come. Plan on being gone a spell. If you ain't up to a hike, maybe you're up for this." 

Vin leaned down and Chris leaned up to meet him halfway. Warm, moist lips, tongue demanding entrance and Chris let his head fall back onto his bedroll, Vin not losing contact with his lips on the way down.

He squirmed under his living, naked blanket and opened his mouth wider, inviting Vin's tongue further in. Vin pressed harder, elbows next to Chris' ears and Chris held onto Vin's ass with both hands. Lazy, sweet, long kisses, wet and sloppy and he let Vin lead the way. Sweet pressure along every nerve in his body, front to back, top to bottom and he was hard and hot, ready for whatever Vin had planned for this pre-dawn wake up call. Vin finally ended the kiss, pulling back and taking some of his weight off his elbows, staring down into Chris eyes.

Chris gave a little shrug, jostling Vin, then doing it again when their cocks, aligned just right, rubbed together. "Well, since you got me up, I'm sure we can work something out."

"Such a hardship on 'ya, ain't it?" Vin managed to breathe out before diving in for another kiss. 

He stole Chris' breath, made it his own and Chris gave it gladly. Everything he had, he'd told Vin a few months before and he meant it then as much as he meant it now. His breath, his blood, his tears, his heart... Vin had it all. Even though there wasn't all that much to give. Seemed to be enough for Vin though, and for that alone Chris was so grateful that he couldn't even put into words the depth of his feelings. He didn't have words strong enough. 

Vin grabbed Chris' t-shirt and raised it and Chris levered himself up, just enough to let Vin get the shirt off him. His head got stuck in the neck and Vin gave a little yank, tossing the shirt somewhere across the tent once he got it free. Chris sunk back down onto the bedroll and let Vin invade his mouth again, welcomed him in.

Vin's bent leg hitched around his hip and he opened himself to Chris' hand, squirming so it went from his rump to the crevice between his cheeks. Chris took the hint. He took his time exploring, using his entire hand to give Vin pleasure, stroking his balls, the sweet spot behind them, pushing gently against his entrance, just enough pressure to make him squirm some more. Warm and moist and he held on tight to the muscular cheek with his other hand, pulling Vin tighter to his body, giving his own cock something to rub against.

Vin went back to sucking on his neck, panting in his ear, tight, short little groans and he slipped the tip of his finger deeper into Vin's body. Vin stopped sucking on his neck and dove in for another kiss, long, hot and hard. It went on forever, it seemed like to Chris, Vin stealing the breath he managed to get through his nose, then shared his own air. Chris tried to concentrate on rubbing Vin some more, round and round, pushing, penetrating, slowly working the muscle loose. 

Vin broke off the kiss again, lips back to Chris' ear, panting, sucking, moaning, hitching in breaths now and then and the sound alone almost set Chris off. It took everything he had to stop the gentle, instinctive rolling of his hips, stopped the friction of their cocks rubbing together or he would be coming all over the both of them.

"What do you want?" Chris asked somewhere near Vin's ear when he had enough breath to push out the words. 

"You, me, everything," Vin moaned out and rolled their hips together again.

"This?" Chris asked, pushing his finger into Vin, using the rest of his hand to hold him still.

"Yeah," Vin breathed out around a laugh. "That."

"Then stop this." Chris shoved his hips up, rocking Vin, sliding their cocks against each other. "Or, there won't be any of this." Chris pushed his finger deeper, added another and twisted them, pulling back out, rubbing, teasing the skin up and down Vin's ass.

Vin set to licking again, sucking on Chris' pulse point and Chris gave an involuntary shudder, pricks of pleasure jolting him, forcing his hips up, almost bucking Vin off. 

"Too much for you?" Vin asked, leaning up and back to get a look into Chris' eyes.

"Never. Remember that. Never too much for me."

"Sounds like a challenge, Larabee."

Vin's teeth shining in the little slivers of light, his eyes sparkling, reflecting some more of the dim light and Chris nearly flipped him over and plunged inside him... but this was Vin's show. He fingered his hole a little harder, pushed in, holding his hip still with his other hand and Vin's mouth latched onto him again.

His neck tingled all over, Vin not staying on one spot long enough to leave a mark, licking and sucking every bit of flesh and Chris almost wished he would leave a mark. Vin finally pulled away, leaving his skin wet and cooling in the night air. He leaned higher, reaching past their heads, rubbing his dick across Chris' stomach and chest, almost to his face and Chris wanted to scoot down and latch onto Vin's dick and suck him dry. Wanted to get sloppy and messy and covered in spit and come. Wanted to lick it off Vin's skin, swallow him whole then leave his own markings in place of what he licked off Vin.

Vin slid back down his body before he could latch on, his lips going to the other side of Chris' neck and Chris grabbed onto Vin's backside again, aligning them by instinct, their dicks lined up, the thin cotton of Chris shorts separating their skin. Vin reached behind him, grabbed Chris' hand and pressed something into it.

A tube and Chris knew exactly what it was. "This a hint?" Chris breathed out.

Vin's weight came off him and Chris' hips instinctively went up, seeking friction, but Vin pushed him back down and grasped Chris' shorts and yanked. His dick sprung loose and he raised his hips so Vin could peel his shorts down his legs and off. He settled back down and squirmed, aligning them so their dicks rubbed and pushed against each other.

"Not enough of a hint?" Vin asked, his voice throaty and full of held back laughter.

"A demand then?" Chris panted out, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

"Take it any way you damn please, cowboy. Just saddle up. Ain't been riding for awhile now."

"You're so romantic," Chris breathed out through his chuckling.

"Sure am," Vin whispered against Chris' lips, blowing light puffs of air across his face. 

Vin pressed their foreheads together, head tilted back and Chris held onto him, rubbing his back with his free hand, rolling his hips, meeting Vin's thrusts strength for strength. Vin squirmed, managed to get a hand between their bodies and took both their dicks in his grasp, adding some more pressure to the mix and Chris nearly dropped the tube he held.

He managed to get both hands over Vin's back, springing the lid off the slippery stuff and squeezed some onto his fingers. Vin gripped their dicks tighter, rubbed harder and Chris dropped the tube, hands going straight to Vin's rear.

Vin bent his leg higher, opening more, whispering, "yeah," and grabbing onto Chris' head with both hands. He twisted his fingers through Chris' hair, gripping him, positioning him, tilting his head back for better access. He dove back in for another deep kiss and Chris nearly lost his momentum, slick fingers resting against Vin while he lost himself in the kiss.

Vin shoved backward instead of driving his hips into Chris' and Chris slipped a finger inside Vin's body, spreading the cool liquid wherever he touched.

Vin let go of the grip he had on Chris' hair, let Chris' mouth free and levered himself up on one elbow, other arm reaching around. He groped for Chris' hand and Chris met him, latching onto Vin's fingers for a moment before Vin slipped them free. Vin raised his hips, reached between them and freed Chris' trapped dick. He kept his eyes locked with Chris' as he fingered himself, then used some of the slippery stuff to coat Chris' dick. 

He fisted Chris' dick in his hand, lazy strokes designed to make him so hard he hurt, so hard he couldn't think of anything else, so hard Vin could just lean back and take him all the way inside.

Oh boy, was it working. His breath caught in his throat as Vin worked his dick, slippery, tight grip running up and down the length of him, pinching his head just under his glans, finger running loosely over the tip and Chris let out a deep breath. If he didn't get control of himself, he was going to pick Vin up and shove him back down, impaling him straight through his gut and into his heart with one stroke.

He bit his lip, fighting the shout trying to break free, titled his hips higher, seeking... searching. He was going to lose his mind - that's all there was to it. Vin shifted higher, raised and settled back down. Guided Chris' dick to his hole and waited. 

"Little help," Vin breathed out and Chris managed enough sense to bend his knees and plant his feet in the bedroll.

"Better," Vin whispered again and Chris braced his body on his elbows, knowing it would go easier if he let Vin seat himself, didn't go with his instinct and thrust home.

Vin let go of Chris and put all his weight on his knees, one on each side of Chris' abdomen, just the tip of Chris' cock seeking entrance at the ring of muscle guarding Vin's body. A deep breath, an exhale and Vin sank lower, slowly taking Chris' entire length within him.

Chris fisted his hands in the bunched blankets, fighting the urge to grip Vin's hips, fighting the need to thrust up. Vin was still letting out his breath, still sinking lower. Slow but steady in one long, interminable push, Vin's weight and gravity working to bring them together. Chris squeezed his eyes shut tight, held in a breath, got control over his pounding heart as Vin kept sinking, sinking until his ass was nestled in Chris' groin, Chris' dick so far inside he wondered if he'd see it poking out Vin's front if he opened his eyes.

Vin shifted again, took his weight off his knees, put all his weight on Chris and Chris gasped, sinking impossibly further into Vin's body. His hands instinctively shot up to grab Vin's arms, trying to lift.

"S'alright," Vin managed to breathe out through shallow panting. "Give me a minute, though before you git to movin'."

Chris tried to sit up, tried to get Vin to take some of his own weight but Vin leaned back, resting against Chris' raised legs, pinning him in place.

"Last time you did that, you couldn't ride for a few days."

"Better make it good this time then, if'n that happens again."

Chris reached out and slapped Vin's thigh, as far around as he could reach. He couldn't get to his ass, but the meaty part of his outer thigh would have to be good enough. "Meant your horse, asshole."

"Well I meant you, cowboy. Now you gonna buck soon, or do I need find me a younger stud?"

"Oh god, Vin, don't say Buck when I'm balls deep inside you, please..." Chris tried not to laugh but couldn't help himself. Vin's playfulness during sex sometimes surprised him. Lately, sex hadn't been playful... intense... desired... needed... but definitely not playful.

"Something you want to tell me, Chris? I'm thinking buck like a never been saddled stallion, not the Buck with a big ole crumb catcher on his upper lip."

"Stop that," Chris hissed and went to whack Vin's thigh again, but Vin grabbed his hand. 

"Put that hand to use."

He guided Chris' hand to his dick and used Chris' hand to jerk himself off, letting go once Chris took up the motion. 

A few strokes and Vin's breathing grew harsh again. He kept his full weight sunk down on Chris, rotating his hips, searching for that perfect angle. A sharper intake of air from Vin and Chris braced his legs. Just in time, too, as Vin shifted his hips and started rocking.

Vin's hands on his again and he gripped Vin's dick tighter, held it down trapped against his own belly by his palm. Vin let out a deep moan, it rumbled up from deep inside and Chris felt it vibrate along his body, all the way to his toes.

"Ah fuck," Vin said and tilted his head back, eyes squeezed shut tight. "Harder, Chris," he breathed out and Chris pushed down harder on Vin's trapped dick. Vin shifted angles again, bent his knees, getting his feet under him and leaned forward. "Perfect," he breathed out, and fucked himself on Chris' dick, fucked himself on Chris' hand and belly on every upstroke. 

Vin clenched his internal muscles on each downstroke and Chris had to concentrate on the feel of Vin's dick in his hand or he'd be meeting every thrust with a brutal one of his own. With all Vin's weight settled on Chris' dick, he couldn't just pound into him, no matter how much his instinct told him to. 

Chris concentrated on his breathing; he wasn't careful, all the panting he was doing and he'd be short of breath and pass out. He didn't think a person could pass out from pleasure, but he was willing to find out. More than willing. 

Vin bounced up and down on Chris's dick, his face contorted in pleasure that almost looked like pain and Chris sped up his hand on Vin's dick. Vin's panting grew faster, moans that wanted to be shouts slipping through his pursed lips. Chris went along for the ride, watching, fascinated as the pleasure ripped through Vin in sharp waves.

Vin's muscles clenched tighter and Chris knew he was close. Freed Vin's trapped dick and gripped it tight. Pulled and tugged, concentrated on the head, jerking faster and faster until his hand was a blur. It didn't take long for Vin to throw back his head and moan, his hot come spurting out in jets, wave after wave. Chris tried to watch Vin's face and his dick but he couldn't do both. A jet of hot come hit him in the face and he almost started laughing, but he kept fisting Vin's dick, knowing just how good it could be to get jerked the same time you were coming. He licked his lips where Vin hit him, wishing he could get it all, but his tongue wasn't long enough.

Finally, Vin stopped jerking and he collapsed forward onto Chris, wriggling his hips as small shocks ripped though him. Chris felt them, his own dick jumped each time Vin's body pulsed. He was going to need some relief soon, too. He felt like he'd been hard for hours. Might have been, too.

"You can move, you know," Vin whispered after less than a minute. "But I'm warnin ya, you gotta do all the work. I'm done worn to the bone."

Chris' hands went to the back of Vin's head, guided him forward until their lips met. This time, he took charge of the kiss, pushing, penetrating, running his tongue into every bit of Vin's mouth he could reach. Vin sucked Chris' tongue, let it in with no resistance and he couldn't take another second of it. He'd been patient, but a man had his limits.

He sat up, rolled over and had Vin on his back in one smooth move. His dick hadn't slipped out when he moved and he was so hard he hurt. Vin was clenched tight around him, holding on from the outside and the inside and Chris positioned him, high on his back, hips in the air, one leg wrapped around Chris' waist and one over his shoulder.

"Told ya you're doing all the work, cowboy," Vin breathed out and Chris could only nod.

It wasn't going to take long, he could pound nails into lumber with his dick he was so hard. He latched onto Vin's lips, hunched over, still buried deep inside him, fucking his mouth with his tongue while pushing into him as hard as he could. Vin shifted, changed the angle a bit and Chris couldn't help speeding up the pace. He moaned into Vin's mouth a final time, let his mouth go and buried his face into Vin's neck, arms wrapped around him. He held him close, used only his hips to thrust into him, cradling him, trying to crawl into every part of him.

Panting in his ear to match his own panting, sending him deeper into need, deeper into Vin and he couldn't hold back, didn't want to. He erupted hard, jerking in time with his emptying balls, holding still each time, buried his dick further with each thrust. It lasted forever but was over too quickly, empty, sated, full... not sure of up or down, he collapsed onto Vin, Vin's legs settling outside his.

Both blowing like they'd just run twenty miles, they stayed together until he realized his weight wasn't doing Vin any favors in the catching his breath department. He rolled over slowly, watching Vin's face as he pulled his still half-mast dick out of him. The grimace told him they may have gone a little too far, but Vin smiled at him and he couldn't help smiling back.

"Now that's the way to start a new day," Vin finally said, breathing back to normal. 

They lay on their backs, side by side, touching shoulder to hip, watching the light change from barely discernible to the familiar grey of approaching dawn.

"How long you plan to be out?"

"Don't know yet. All day, most likely." Vin rolled over, laying an arm over Chris' chest and resting his chin on his arm. He stared up at Chris, just watching.

Chris draped an arm over Vin's back and quirked an eyebrow. Vin had something to say, he'd say it. He had something on his mind, he'd work out how to say it before he said it. Either way, he'd just have to wait.

Vin leaned up and kissed him softly, then levered himself upright, groaning a little, then stretching.

"Sore?" Chris asked.

Vin didn't answer, just worked on getting himself to his feet. He grabbed a towel from somewhere off to the side of their bedrolls and started wiping himself down. 

Chris watched him, not missing the grimace or the tightness around his eyes. Vin wiped down his groin, lifting his cock, rubbing it clean and swiping his balls before running the towel between his thighs. Chris got a sharp twinge deep down in his belly, could have been his dick trying to wake up again if he wasn't so worn out. He liked the idea of Vin just wiping down, not taking a real bath, walking around with Chris' leavings inside him all day. Gave him a thrill right up and down his spine that settled deep inside. 

Vin bent to pick up the clothes next to their bedrolls and this time, Chris couldn't ignore the pained look.

"Too much?" Chris asked softly.

"Told ya it'd never be too much, Chris. I think we mighta rearranged my insides a little is all. Be sore for awhile. Won't last. We'll have to be sure to do it again."

"You sure you don't want to wait until later to go on a hike?"

"Hell, Chris, a few overworked muscles never hurt no one. You spend your day fishing with the old folk and I'll spend my day scoutin. I'll let you know what I find."

"Old folk?"

"Sure... you, O'Neill, Josiah... the old men who're gonna sit around fishin all day."

"You trying to rile me?"

"Sure am... is it working?"

Chris pretended to yawn, stretching out all his muscles and groaning when it turned into the real thing.

Vin came back over and lowered himself down, close enough to touch. Reached out and put his hand over Chris' heart, pushing him back down into the bedroll. "Go back to sleep. Ain't even dawn yet. I'll be back at nightfall or thereabouts."

"You keep calling me old and coddling me and I'm gonna start believing you."

"Hell, Chris, you can shoot, ride, work and fuck men half your age into the ground. You'll be glaring people into pissing their pants three days into the grave. S'all part of your charm, cowboy." 

Vin leaned in and kissed him, soft and sweet and slow. Something they hadn't been doing much of lately. This trip wasn't just good for them, but it was good for *them*. Chris pulled back, his dick was actually interested, only enough to fill it out a little, not enough for anything but a warm feeling deep inside, but he'd take it. Any way he could.

Vin stretched again, still making faces when he moved a certain way and Chris couldn't help smiling as Vin started whistling.

"Watch your back, Vin," Chris called as Vin slipped out of their tent and into the dawn.

He thought he heard a faint, "Always do," but he wasn't too sure. That kiss left him feeling all warm inside, ready to go back to sleep before facing another day of uncertainty.


	22. 22

*****

The fog of sleep lifted slowly from Jack's mind, and he vaguely wondered what it was that lured him to waking. Before his eyes cracked open, the sounds of soft moaning drifted around him. What the hell?

More awake, Jack listened closely for a few seconds, then realized they were coming from outside his tent. Another one, breathy and needful, got Jack's full attention, as realization dawned; those were the sounds of lovemaking. Pretty intense lovemaking, if that last, lilting groan was any indication.

A soft grunt followed by harsh panting translated to one word: penetration. Jack's dick responded to that one word immediately, leaping to hardness as if saying, 'Me, too! I wanna play, too!' Then it hit him; the only two who'd be fucking on this little vacation would be Larabee and Tanner. 

He was about to blow out an exasperated breath when he realized that he couldn't hear Daniel's rhythmic snoring. Fuck. That meant Daniel was awake, too. Jack forced his eyes to stare straight up, ordering himself to not turn his head and look over at Daniel. This was not good. You just didn't lie within a few feet of another guy, with a boner, listening to two other guys get it on. But of course, that thought had Jack wondering if Daniel had a boner, too, because then Jack wouldn't be the only one breaking the no-boner rule.

Jack really had to work hard to suppress his sigh, then. Of all the wrongs that Jack added up in his head, contemplating the possibility Daniel's erection was the wrongest. Then again, Daniel hadn't made any move to let Jack know that he was awake, so maybe Daniel was in the same predicament, and was contemplating Jack's erection, too. That would even things up, right?

Still, it seemed pretty clear to Jack that the mutual decision was for both he and Daniel to pretend to be sleeping, and to ignore the boners... alleged boners, Jack mentally amended. If they both continued to pretend, then neither would have to acknowledge that they were hearing something so sultry, so ardent; and thus they definitely wouldn't have to acknowledge that they'd been physically effected by those frenzied, passionate sounds.

All Jack had to do was keep reminding his dick that it was under strict orders to stand down. It was pure agony. Though, from the unnatural silence in the sleeping bag just across from his, Jack's misery was shared. 

That last, one, long, drawn out moan almost did Jack-- and his dick-- in. No mistaking that sound of blissful release, and though his dick obeyed the command to not charge full-steam ahead, it wasn't happy about it.

Jack breathed carefully through his nose, the quietest way he knew how, until the sympathetic urges stirred by the amorous sounds finally eased. Jack knew that he was running out of time, and would have to work up a strategy for pretending to come awake. Daniel would pretend to be casual about this, if it came to having to acknowledge it, but Jack knew from that night at his place when they first talked about Larabee and Tanner, that Daniel would be as uncomfortable with subject as he was. So, he'd just have to make sure that it didn't come to that.

The timing had to be perfect... Jack waited another moment... then one more... then expelled a tactical breath, one that sounded like a sleepy yawn, and that was followed by one of those smacking of your lips that you do when just coming conscious.

Right on cue, Daniel let out one of those drowsy breaths of the not-truly-awake, and shifted in his sleeping bag, as though pulling the cover higher. Of course, Jack was guessing at that movement, because he was most definitely not going to risk looking over there yet. It was way too soon.

He waited. One breath. Another. Then he yawned, and casually stretched. Then he rolled onto his side and forced his eyes to open very, very slowly.

Daniel stretched in his sleeping bag, too, but rolled over onto his other side, away from Jack. Smart move, Jack mentally acknowledged. Jack yawned again, then sat up. He did try to keep the noise down as he slipped out of his bag, but Daniel rolled over to look at him anyway.

Daniel wiped his eyes blearily. "It's too early, Jack. I'm not getting up yet."

Jack grinned. "You don't have to. The sun's not even really up yet. I might catch another wink or two myself, after I take a leak."

"Mmm, see you in an hour or two, then," Daniel said, and snuggled back into his cocoon.

Damn, but they did work well together, Jack thought, pleased with how the two of them had gotten through it. A quick piss, and he might actually catch those extra winks, Jack decided.

*****

It may have taken him all day to do it, but Jack could finally sit next to Chris without thinking about what he'd heard. Oops, almost not think about it. But he was sitting next to him and sort of interacting with him, right? Right. It helped that Tanner had been gone all day and Larabee had done his fishing and lazing a few hundred yards up the beach.

Jack finished tying his lures and leaned back a little. Everyone except Daniel and Tanner back at camp, each set on doing his own thing for the moment. Larabee started in on the booze again just a little while ago and he sat next to Jack, boots off, legs crossed, gun stowed, acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. 

JD and Buck had a fire started, dinner ready to be cooked while the three others sat talking. Daniel had yet to return from the dig site, but he'd show up soon. They were having fish - not the fish they'd caught - for dinner and no way would Daniel stick around the dig site and eat canned rations, or worse yet, MRE's when he had fresh fish waiting for him.

He'd admit he was starting to worry a little. Daniel left right after breakfast, though he'd checked in twice via radio. He hadn't checked in for about three hours, though, and the trouble magnet knew better then to not to check in, even if he was at a dig. Working. They were on vacation, though a dig site was like a vacation, sort of, for Daniel. He got to do so little real archeology work these days that he probably lost track of time while he dug through a thousand year old trash heap.

Jack glanced around the camp again... not one of the men seemed concerned that Tanner hadn't been seen or heard from since before dawn. Jack wished again he hadn't heard from Tanner before dawn. He didn't need to think about that again, didn't need the full aural experience running through his brain. Didn't want to wonder about his dick taking charge and demanding action when two *guys* were going at it less than twenty feet away. Live porn, and his dick so didn't care it was two guys. Nope, no siree Bob. Wrong on so many different levels was what it was. And why was it that when you tried so hard to not think about something, that was exactly where your mind went? Worse yet, your mind conjured up little flashes of visuals that no way your eyes could have actually seen before. Wrong was what it was, just plain wrong.

But fishing was right. Fishing kept him busy, though Teal'c was there to give him a hard time about not actually catching anything. He didn't share the intel that if he actually wanted to catch anything while ocean fishing from a beach, he'd actually have to stand up and cast though the surf every once in awhile. Teal'c didn't need to know that, though Jack was sure Teal'c had, at some point, figured it out. Must have been why he strolled off in search of Sanchez and Nathan, who he seemed to take a liking to. 

Larabee shifted to get comfortable and Jack observed him unnoticed. Larabee had his hat tilted so far forward, it barely sat on his head, but it blocked the red, setting sun from his eyes. Catching a nap and Jack wondered how the hell he could be so damn relaxed when one of his men hadn't been heard from for going on twelve hours. None of the others looked worried, either, and that told Jack what he needed to know... maybe. None of them even mentioned Tanner - it was like they expected him to pull a Houdini. That pretty much clinched it, so Jack would worry when they worried. 

Someone was making enough noise to alert a hibernating bear and Daniel stepped into view a few moments later. Good boy, Jack nodded approvingly. Not smart to come into an armed camp without announcing yourself first. Daniel learned a lot over the years, whether Jack was in a mood to admit it or not. 

"Have fun today?" Daniel asked as he dropped his pack to the ground. His butt followed as he landed in an ungraceful heap next to Jack.

"Yup. You have fun at the dump?"

Daniel gave him the look that said, 'I know you know better, but I'm going to ignore your attempt at humor,' or something along those lines.

"I wasn't sure I was going to make it back for dinner," Daniel said as he stretched and got comfortable. "The hike back seemed longer than the one there, even though it was all downhill."

"Something wrong with your radio?"

"Battery's dead." Daniel shrugged. "Maybe it has a bad cell, I don't know."

Jack nodded to Daniel and added it to the list of things he needed to do in the morning. If everything went to plan, they had a busy day the next day - busy and fun."

"Daniel?" Larabee asked, his eyes still covered and head still down.

"Hmmm?"

"I'd like to see the papers you gave Vin last night. Said it was all right with him if you showed 'em to me."

"Oh... sure, fine. I'll be right back."

Larabee sat straight and pulled his hat off his eyes, dropping it to the ground now the sun was lower on the horizon. He leaned back against the tree he was propped against and uncrossed and crossed his legs, getting comfortable.

Not a care in the world, it seemed. Jack kept himself from shaking his head and reminded himself he was on vacation, too.

Daniel returned clutching a folder and handed it to Larabee before he sat back down. When Larabee opened the folder, Jack caught a glimpse of a headline -- he'd seen it before. "Here lies An Innocent Man," it read in the largest type he'd ever seen in a newspaper. The article was nice, summarizing the peacekeepers' lives in their town, updates about their families and speculation about what happened to them. It read like a eulogy - one delayed four years. Maybe it took the newspaper editor that long to finally give up hope they weren't ever coming back.

Larabee took his time reading the article, his expression never changing. Jack tried not to watch him as he read. Besides being rude, he'd already read all the articles and knew what kind of reaction Chris might have. 

Daniel stood to leave, making some excuse about dinner and Jack nodded to him. He should have been the one to go, he thought, but now he'd have to stay. His conscience wouldn't let him go, though if Larabee wanted to talk about what he was reading, Jack wasn't sure he could have that conversation. Didn't think Larabee would lose it, but sure as hell didn't want to be there if he did. Only way a guy showed so little on the outside was if he was dead inside or if he bottled it all up. Jack'd seen enough fire out of Larabee to know he wasn't dead inside. Pressure like that building and it would be ugly when it found a valve. He really didn't want to be around for that.

Shuffling of papers and Jack looked over to find Larabee staring at him.

Jack looked back, not quite sure what the problem was, but the way Larabee was holding that file and the way his shoulders and neck were strung tight, it didn't take a genius to figure out there was some kind of problem.

"This ain't right," Larabee said softly, an emotion Jack couldn't name lurking in his words.

"Daniel's pretty thorough in his research, usually. What part is wrong?"

"All of it. This is Mary's diary. Her *private* diary."

Hell. To Jack it was a book, nothing more, nothing less. History class at the academy and they'd read lots of people's diaries. Lieutenant Hess, his history professor, wanted them to learn their history through the people who lived it. Reading diaries and letters from soldiers was a hell of a lot more interesting than reading textbooks.

"You people have no right!" Larabee said as he snapped the file closed. "No wonder Vin wouldn't look at it."

"It's history, Chris. Excerpts from her diary were published as part of a collection of writing by women living on the frontier." Grateful for Daniel's explanation, Jack was at least able to explain where it came from. "Her granddaughter donated her diary and a bunch of her other papers, including every single issue of her newspaper, to a museum. They've been helpful getting all the background on you and your families that we've found."

"That's another thing," Larabee said as he pulled his boots on. "You people know stuff about us you got no right to know. You act like you've got a right to read about us, find out about our pasts, our families. Our lives are our own!" 

Larabee stormed over to the fire pit and poured himself a cup of coffee, shaking his head as Wilmington stood to maybe join them. After adding sugar, Chris came back to sit next to Jack. At least he was willing to talk.

"We're trying to help," he said, knowing it was lame as the words came out of his mouth.

"You satisfied Vin ain't a murderer now? Wanted to make sure before you jailed him again?"

Back to that, huh? There was no answer for that - no matter what he said, Larabee wouldn't believe him. MacKenzie questioned Tanner about being wanted, insinuated he'd go to jail for murder, then locked him up. And even though he'd done it because he thought Tanner was dangerous, it still looked wrong. No matter whose side you looked at it from.

Jack had a fleeting thought of coffee before he pointed to the bottle by Larabee's leg. Hell, he should have skulked off and let Daniel handle this one. That's what he got for being slow.

Larabee handed Jack the bottle and Jack took a big slug of the whiskey. And then another. Shit, if he was really going to go through with this he needed a few more. Maybe the whole bottle.

"Chris?" Jack asked, keeping his voice low.

Larabee's head shot up as Jack shifted around to get to the waterproof pouch he always carried with him. Here goes nothing. He took another shot for good measure before rifling through the pouch, intent on something that hadn't seen the light of day in awhile.

Jack glanced up, Larabee was watching Wilmington, Dunne and Daniel stoke the fire, adding some light to the encroaching darkness. He didn't know if he could go through with it, but things were so one sided from Larabee's point of view that he couldn't think of any other way to even things out a bit.

He handed the picture over without looking at Larabee... his hand hanging in the air for a long moment before Larabee reached out and took Jack's offering.

Jack sighed, sure he'd made a mistake. Not a peep from Larabee and Jack had to fill the silence. "If you want to know about us, sort of make things a little more even, I'll answer your questions."

More silence from Larabee and Jack couldn't look at him yet. He wanted to snatch back the picture. He didn't, though.

"Nice looking boy. Yours?"

"Charlie," Jack said, sure his voice would crack on the syllables. It didn't. 

"Your wife?" Larabee asked.

"Ex-wife." Nothing from Larabee and Jack looked around, not sure what for. He couldn't look at Chris right now, couldn't stand to see pity or understanding or disgust or anything else that may escape Larabee's poker face when he spoke again. "She left a few months after Charlie died. She said she forgave me, but I don't think she did. Charlie accidentally shot himself with my gun."

Larabee didn't say anything and Jack wasn't surprised. What did you say to that? He could count the times he'd said those words out loud on one hand. Less than half of a hand and he didn't ever want to say them again. Jack took a few more swallows of whiskey, sure Larabee would get up and walk away.

Movement in his peripheral vision and Jack reached out blindly to take the photo back. The hand stayed where it was and Jack handed over the bottle. Getting drunk he could do. Talking some more, maybe not so much. Seemed like Larabee agreed. The distinctive sounds of a bottle being upended and swallowing that lasted forever and Jack still couldn't look at Chris.

"I can't believe they've been dead for over a century. It was only five years ago, to me."

"I don't think it matters if it's a thousand years or one," Jack said softly. "You want to know more about us?"

"You'll tell it in your time if you're of a mind to," Larabee said, then took another long swallow.

Jack held out his hand for the bottle. Neither one of them looked at each other, emotions too close to the surface to hold back completely. Jack studied the camp again, kept his eye off Larabee. Daniel still at the fire, Standish off somewhere, Nathan, Josiah and Buck in a small circle near the tents. Darkness pushing out daylight, a small sliver of light on the horizon while stars shone above.

"You think you'll ever win this war?" Larabee asked and Jack could finally look in his direction. The darkness helped, along with the subject change.

"I don't know. We don't have a choice."

"That bad?"

"We're doing okay, holding our own. Against all odds and all that other crap."

"I'm used to long odds. Might even like 'em."

Jack swung his sights on Chris in time to catch Chris' shrug and smile. He could really get to like this guy... if the circumstances were different. 

A crash over by the fire pit and Jack broke eye contact with Larabee. Wilmington was helping Dunne to his feet and laughing, a loud belly laugh that couldn't have been anything but genuine. 

"Taking a little walk, boys," Buck boomed out. "Don't be eatin my dinner while I'm gone."

Jack felt eyes on him and turned back to Chris.

"Buck's okay," Larabee said as he shrugged. "Known him for what seems like my whole life, now."

Jack took another long swig from the rapidly emptying bottle and handed it back to Chris.

"How did you two meet?"

"In the war," Chris said, taking another long pull from the bottle. "He was just a kid. His entire company, bunch of kids out of Ford County, was cut down in Kentucky. What was left of his unit hooked up with mine and I inherited the bunch of them."

"You were an officer?"

"Lieutenant when I went in, Captain by the end of it. Illinois 3rd cavalry."

"I've read about some of it. I went to the Air Force academy... like West Point, but for the Air Force instead of the army. Saw an ugly war myself." Jack considered another drink, but wasn't sure if he could still stand. Larabee went for more to drink and the silence stretched. "You two been together all that time?"

"Nah... we'd of killed each other by now. Don't get me wrong, Buck's a good friend. But... well, sometimes I need quiet and Buck and quiet aren't exactly on a first name basis."

Jack wasn't sure if it was the whiskey or Larabee's deadpan delivery, but he let out a loud laugh; he couldn't help himself. He didn't want to. Had to be the whiskey.

"You and Dr. Jackson known each other a long time?" 

First semi-personal question Larabee ever asked him and Jack wanted to answer. Wanted to share some of his own life and not just to even things up. 

"Daniel and I met on a mission about eight years ago now. He stayed behind and I thought I'd never see him again. The war got us back together, and except for the times I thought he was dead, we've worked together ever since."

Okay, he hadn't planned on sharing that much. Maybe he should be drinking beer now, instead of the whiskey. Since the bottle was practically empty, that seemed like a good idea. He stood and stretched, nearly toppling over. Good thing Hammond wasn't around to see him get soused on a mission, even if he was technically on vacation. It just didn't seem right. He grabbed a six pack out of the cooler... not running into the others on his errand. The camp was practically deserted and Jack wondered if they all went back to the beach. 

He tossed a beer to Chris and sat back down. He would admit he was having a good time. It wouldn't kill him to admit that, would it?

"So you two are good friends, then?" Larabee asked.

Jack had to backtrack a bit to figure out what Larabee was talking about... right. He and Daniel. There was no he and Daniel! Friends... that's right, that's what Larabee was asking.

"It's complicated." Jack used the bottle opener on his knife to open his bottle, then Larabee's, before settling back in. He stretched out his legs and leaned back against his tree before going on. "Daniel's a civilian and I'm military. We don't always see eye to eye." Understatement didn't cover that one by half, but enough was enough with the sharing.

"Keeps you on your toes, then?" Larabee asked and Jack laughed. 

He wasn't the only one who could do understatement. "Something like that," Jack said as he raised his beer. "Daniel, Sam, Teal'c and I have been a unit for a long time now. Hit a snag last year when we thought Daniel was dead. I didn't know if I could handle the change in the team, but you do what you have to." The silence stretched and it was Larabee's turn, though it looked like Jack was going to have to remind him.

"How did the seven of you hook up? You're all pretty different."

"You want the whole story?" Larabee asked, tilting his head. "You read Mary's article, so you might know some of it."

"I don't believe what I read, most of the time. People are prone to exaggerate." 

Larabee snorted, nearly spilling his beer and Jack congratulated himself for being so accurate.

"That's not the half of it," Larabee said, still laughing. "I was roaming around, not really headed anywhere but to my next drunk. Got called out three times inside of two days and figured to head out of the area."

"That happen a lot to you?" Jack asked. Finally! Some cowboy stories.

"Getting called out?"

Jack nodded.

"Used to happen a lot. Not so much in the past few years. I was going to head north, maybe California. Somewhere, anywhere."

Larabee went silent again and Jack didn't prompt him. Chris was talkative and Jack didn't want to ruin the mood.

"Went to Eagle Bend and got the paper deed on my place. Figured never to come back. Heard Buck had just been through Eagle Bend so I went after him. Was going to sign over my land to him so I knew no one would touch anything... make any changes."

Larabee grabbed another beer and Jack threw him the bottle opener.

"Got to town, found out Buck was making time with a woman, met Vin, saved Nathan from a lynching, got a job and hunted down Buck. Met up with Ezra, Nathan brought in Josiah, finished the job and then the judge hired us on to protect the town."

"Somehow I think you're leaving a lot out."

"Read the paper. She tells it better anyway," Chris said with a smile.

Convinced by that smile that he wasn't going to hear anymore, Jack stood. "Call of nature," he called out and stepped toward the woods.

"I wouldn't go very far if I was you," Larabee said, his tone conversational.

"Why not?"

Larabee pointed around camp. "Vin's back. And it looks like he's taking scalps.

For a second, Jack's mind flashed on Standish - 'Savage upbringing' - and the look on his face must have given him away because Larabee started laughing at him.

"He's not actually taking their scalps. It's a game he plays. He's got 'em all tied up somewhere. Got Ezra first, Daniel next, Buck, then I lost track. You don't want to be next, you'd best stick close. I figure you and me are the prizes he's after."

Jack decided his piss break could wait a little longer and sat down against a tree opposite Chris. Tanner couldn't sneak up on them if they were watching each other's backs. 

"How long will he wait?" Jack asked, thinking about how long he could hold out before pissing.

"Ezra'll be bitching about wanting dinner. Shouldn't be too long."

"If I wasn't so shit-faced, I'd play his game."

"You wouldn't win."

Jack kept his comments to himself. He was special forces, he knew a thing or two about the kind of game Tanner was playing. Standish probably had a point about Chris being blind to Tanner's faults. Larabee had Tanner on a pretty high pedestal. One some of the others might not appreciate. But he'd sensed nothing but friendship from all of them. Even Standish and Larabee, so different it was a wonder they rode together, seemed to get along most of the time. They probably kept their squabbles internal - just like Jack would have. United front when confronted with outsiders; there was no other way.

"He's good, huh?" Jack finally asked. 

"You've no idea. You probably got the wrong idea about him, only seeing him sick like he was. You were off as soon as he was better."

"So tell me."

Larabee went silent and Jack decided he might have overstepped some boundary he didn't know existed. He took his time getting to his feet and grabbing the coffee pot from the fire, sure to keep his eyes ahead and Larabee to his back. He wasn't so drunk he'd make an easy target of himself. 

He topped off Chris' cup before he sat back down with his own mug of coffee. If he didn't lay off the liquor now, he'd be hung over in the morning. Definitely not how he wanted to spend the day.

"Vin's had a different upbringing than any of us. I don't think you could even understand."

"Try me," Jack said. He sipped at his coffee and watched as Larabee stared into the distance. For a second, Jack was sure he was looking at something specific, but it didn't last long enough to be sure. Tanner was probably out there, but he didn't think Chris'd let him sneak up his six. In this game, at least, they were on the same team.

"Vin was born on the prairie. Told me he'd never even been inside a real building until he was five or so. He was raised by his Ma and his father's father - who was half-blood Comanche. His pa was in an army stockade and his grandpa took responsibility for them. He was a tracker and a trapper. His ma died when Vin was five and he traveled with his grandfather until the old man died when Vin was eight. He's the best I've ever seen."

"Not the same as this planet though. Tanner's from Texas, isn't that mostly desert? This planet's a tropical jungle. Not the same thing."

"Hunting's the same no matter where you are or what you're hunting."

Larabee stared into the distance again and this time, Jack did check to see what he was looking at. Two moons, low on the horizon. One about fifteen degrees higher than the other, both full. Sweet.

"So how much longer are we going to wait?" Jack asked.

"We're waiting for you."

"We?"

"Vin's right there," Chris said, pointing over his own left shoulder.

Jack scanned the low ground cover a few hundred yards behind their camp but couldn't see anything out of place. Damn whiskey.

"You saw him?" Jack asked.

"Nope, he's downwind, or was for a second when the wind shifted. He's been looking for an opportunity to take us but I think he's getting hungry."

"Damn straight, I'm hungry. Not enough in one of them bags of food to fill a man's belly."

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around toward the voice not more than fifteen feet away.

"We had a nice lunch," Chris said without looking back at Tanner, who stood outside the light of the fire, just a shadow in the darkness.

"And dinner would be ready now if you hadn't captured the cooks," Jack said, his heart now beating at it's normal rate instead of almost double.

"Hell, you two coulda done the cooking. Larabee cooks up a right nice spread when he's of a mind to."

"A man of many talents." Jack raised his coffee mug at Larabee in a mock toast. Shit, that could be taken a way he didn't mean it, but neither of them were giving him funny looks. "Where are the others?"

"Back yonder a ways. Figure to let 'em stew a little longer. Shouldn't have been so easy to take 'em. They oughta know better." Tanner crouched next to Larabee and snagged his coffee cup, draining it in one swallow. "Not enough sugar," Tanner said with a grin as he handed the empty cup back.

No, it shouldn't have been so easy, though Jack didn't say it out loud. But they were complacent, thinking they had a trio of marines standing guard, at least after sunset. Hey, wait a minute! "You didn't take out the guards, did you?"

"Nah, went to that tent city and talked to 'em before I came here. I ain't foolish enough to go sneaking around in the dark and have some feller with an itchy trigger finger shooting at me."

"You don't get them all back here soon, you'll be cooking," Larabee said as he leaned back against his tree.

"Aw hell, Chris. You're no fun." Tanner reached out and plucked Larabee's hat off the ground, then stuffed it over his head, chuckling. "You could do something other than sit around all night, ya know," Tanner called over his shoulder as he trudged off. "Try makin' yourself useful, you old coot!"

"He's in a good mood," Jack said.

"He's not handling being jailed well," Chris answered, matter-of-fact.

"That will change, Chris, but you've got to give it time."

Larabee didn't answer, just went back to staring at the moons. 

Jack got his second shock of the night when Larabee rose from his spot by the fire and began preparing the pans for the fish. A small chuckle fought its way free until it worked into a full-blown laugh.

Larabee just grinned and shrugged. "Laugh all you want, Jack. But this little trip will be a lot easier if that good mood of his sticks around a bit longer."

"Whatever you say," Jack said, still chuckling. In truth, Jack could relate. His own life was a lot simpler when Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were... 

Jack's thoughts took a sudden left turn. "Where the hell is Teal'c?"

"I am here, O'Neill."

Jack spun around yet again. "Don't do that!"

Teal'c inclined his head, the closest Jack would get to an apology.

"Don't tell me he got you, too?" Larabee said, disbelieving.

"Indeed he came upon my position with great stealth, but did not attempt to capture me."

"So why didn't you give me a little heads-up, big guy?" Jack asked, a little perturbed.

"He asked for my cooperation in this game. As one warrior to another, I agreed."

"You *helped* him?" Jack couldn't believe it.

"I was intrigued by this undertaking, and found his methods most fascinating," Teal'c answered calmly. 

Larabee laughed as he slid the grill over the fire. "He wasn't sure he could get you, so he recruited you."

"It was a most cunning strategy," Teal'c said, damn near smiling. Jack gave him his most sarcastic grin in return.

He was just contemplating getting out the bread, when he heard a rustle in the trees off to the north. A moment later, Tanner came into view. The others followed behind, all of them with their hands bound in front of them, on a lead to which all were tied.

"You kept them tied up?" Jack asked, incredulous, as he approached Daniel.

"Oh no," Daniel answered. "We only got tied up again to come back to camp."

Jack cut him loose, utterly confused by Daniel's broad grin. "I don't get it," Jack finally said.

"We get captured, we stay put where Vin tells us," JD answered. 

"Why?" 

"That's the rules, Colonel," Nathan answered, shrugging.

"But you let yourselves be tied up again to be brought back to camp"

"It's symbolic, Jack," Daniel said, and went to the fire. "Smells great!"

"I think you're all nuts," Jack said, taking a seat as the others got sorted from their binds.

"You just might be right," Josiah told him, sitting next to him and tilting a whiskey bottle for a deep drink.

"Where'd you get that?" Jack asked.

"Mr. Tanner was kind enough to have libations waiting for us upon capture. Once surrening our weapons to his congenial accomplice, we were free to indulge," Ezra explained.

Jack shook his head. He had to be drunker than he realized. He downed a little more coffee, then decided he was actually sobering up, and it still didn't make sense that they all seemed to enjoy Tanner's game as much as Tanner had. He was somewhat amused, he had to admit, but he couldn't help himself, when practicality pushed to the forefront of his mind.

He reached into his tent, a radio in his hand. "Tanner, you forget about this?"

Vin glanced at him, then the radio, then just grinned. "Nope."

Jack cleared his throat. "Remember, we talked about this? When you wander from camp, you take a radio with you. Especially if you're going to be gone all day."

Vin just kept spooning sugar into his coffee, then stirred and took a sip. Jack looked at Daniel, who was apparently not paying attention, more intent on cleaning his glasses. Jack shoved his hands onto his hips. This wasn't an op, but dammit, he was responsible for these people, and they didn't seem to get it.

"Tanner, you can't go wandering off on a strange planet without a radio. We need to be able to communicate with you, and you need to be able to reach us if something happens."

Vin pulled a roll from the bread bag next to Larabee, and bit into it with an expression of delight. But he pointedly did not respond to him.

"You're not going to say anything about it, are you?" Jack finally said, exasperated.

"We ain't gonna see eye to eye on this, so what's the point in arguing?" Vin finally said, a calm, easygoing expression on his face. Jack wanted to strangle him.

Instead, he sat next to Chris. "Does he ever listen?"

Chris shrugged. "When he agrees."

Jack balled his fists and took several, deep breaths. "What would he have done if he'd fallen into a ravine, and couldn't get out, huh?"

Chris grinned, and pointed to the sawed-off Winchester strapped to Vin's thigh. "Mare's Leg. Awful loud. That would get my attention real quick."

Jack gritted his teeth. "What if he'd lost it in the fall? What then?"

"And what if his radio batteries had died?" Daniel asked, a grin twitching on his lips.

Jack gave Daniel his best glare. "You're not helping."

Daniel's grin faded, but Jack could see the amusement still there in his eyes. It was frustrating as hell. As if it wasn't bad enough that he already had one civilian on his hands who only listened when it suited him, now he had two. Dammit, one Daniel was enough.

Jack glanced from the fire, only to find himself glaring at Daniel again, making himself irritated all over again at all the times Daniel had fought with him over things that it didn't make sense to fight about. Things in which Jack's whole point was to keep the man safe.

Daniel looked over him, and upon seeing Jack's continued glare, glanced nervously around himself, as if asking, 'Who, me? What did I do?'

Jack sat back with an exasperated sigh.

Larabee nudged his booted foot, and Jack turned to look at him. Chris gave him a ghost of a grin. "They listen when it counts."

Jack looked around, from Vin, to Daniel, to all the others, one at a time. Jack wasn't sure if Chris meant just his own men, or somehow included Daniel in that assessment. Finally Jack nodded. Either way, Chris was right. Daniel did listen to him-- trusted him-- when it counted, and Jack knew that Vin had to trust Chris when it counted. 

If Jack could get Larabee to take a few more steps and trust *him*, and others at the SGC, then he knew that by extension, Vin would extend a little more trust, too.

But in the meantime, would it have killed the man to just take the damn radio?

"Jack?" He looked up to see Daniel handing him a plate.

"Thanks," Jack answered, taking the offered food. A peace offering, maybe? From Daniel's smile, he thought so. Grudgingly, Jack accepted that, too, and smiled back. So he and Daniel were okay. From the way the others were relaxing into their dinner, Jack realized that he was the only one of them who hadn't exactly been okay.

Jack decided that what he needed was a real vacation. No cowboys, no possible Goa'uld. No more responsibility than to see to it his cooler was never empty. Maybe next year, he thought, with a depressed sigh.

He dug into his food as silence descended over their camp. If the way they were all digging in was any indication, he had a camp of half-starved men on his hands. Tanner had hiked who only knew how far, Dunne, Wilmington, Nathan, and Josiah spent the day alternately swimming and lazing, Larabee pretended to fish, and whatever Teal'c got up to when he disappeared, he'd worked up an appetite too.

Ten hungry men and dinner was gone before he could grab the seconds he wanted. He swore off the whiskey and beer and headed straight for the coffee. All of them settled in and started passing around the whiskey.

Tanner settled in next to Larabee and held out his hand for the bottle.

"Put your gun away," Jack said without raising his voice.

Tanner didn't even look at him, just started drinking the whiskey. Dammit! He may have let the radio discussion go, but he'd take away either the gun or the whiskey, physically, if he had to. One thing Jack knew, and his military training would never let him forget, was that guns and booze didn't mix. Under any circumstances.

"Vin?" Larabee said. "Put one of 'em away."

Tanner and Larabee locked eyes and Jack had a niggling suspicion. Larabee was only backing him because of what he'd told him about Charlie. He did not have issues - okay, maybe some... but drinking while armed was plain stupid. If these men didn't have the sense to see that, well that was just too bad. Some things were non-negotiable. He was about to go into command mode when Tanner got up and quietly put away his gun. He came back into camp and took his place, snatching a bottle from Buck's hands as he passed.

"Hey, Junior! I was drinking that."

"More like hogging it, Bucklin. You probably been drinking all the whiskey in camp while you hid your lazy hide under a tree somewheres all day."

"And that's where you'd be wrong. I spent the day swimming and socializing, just like I planned."

"You had company today?"

"You should have been there, Vin," Dunne nearly yelled. A loud drunk, but a happy one, at least. 

Jack looked to Chris to find him studying the moons again, not really paying attention to the others. He'd probably heard it all from them.

"Whoo-eee, Vin, you woulda hid in the water! Just like the kid here," Wilmington said with a flourish. "Them ladies was wearing almost nothin! And there we were, stripped to our shorts. Nathan had to bring JD a blanket before he'd leave the water."

Daniel shook his head. "Actually, the suits they were wearing would be considered modest on most beaches."

"If that's true, I think I might like it here."

"You find anything interesting today, Tanner?" Jack asked.

"Found a real purty waterfall up yonder. Found some tracks, too."

"Tracks?" Daniel asked, obviously interested. "What kind of tracks? The reports haven't mentioned much animal activity."

"You didn't see 'em? They was plain as day. Especially up on that ridge you followed back here from that tent city. Hell, that was their track you took. Prints were big as grizzly prints, but looked more like cougar."

Jack nearly spilled his coffee when he got a look at Daniel's face.

"Th-th-their track?" Daniel sputtered.

"You don't think a path that clear made itself, did ya?" Tanner asked with a smirk. "Don't worry bout it none, you were making so much noise, only way they woulda bothered ya is if they was hungry and weren't no small game around. Otherwise they'd a lit out before ya got too close. Most critters don't like people, no matter how big they are."

"Safe planet, huh?" Jack asked. 

"There's been no mention of large predators in any of the reports."

Jack decided to let it go. Hell, nothing happened and Tanner kept an eye out. Sober enough to go to bed, he stood and stretched. "I'm going to turn in. Tanner, don't leave before dawn tomorrow. If you stick around, I've got something fun planned."

"What?" Larabee asked.

"I thought we'd shoot some stuff. I'd like to see you in action and I thought maybe you'd like to try some of our weapons."

"Sounds like a plan," Buck said. "I think I'll turn in too. I'm wore out. You coming, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. And I wasn't hiding, Buck!"

"Aw, JD, you was acting like a virgin in a whorehouse."

"Then why did you cover my eyes? You're the one brought me to my first whorehouse!"

Okay, he really didn't want to hear that story. Jack unzipped his tent and crawled in, muffled voices letting him know JD and Buck were still going at it. Critters, whorehouses and drunks, oh my. Daniel might have a point about these guys not being quite ready for the modern world. 

"Jack?"

"Daniel?"

"I'm going to sleep out tonight."

"What?" Jack asked, opening the tent flap. "You never sleep out if you have a choice. Bugs, Daniel. Bug bites and allergic reactions, remember?"

"Deet and antihistamines, Jack, remember?"

"Fine, fine," Jack mumbled. Just don't come complaining to me when you're swollen up like a balloon tomorrow."

"Tanner's happy and talkative and I was hoping to get some Comanche phrases out of him."

"Just watch out for critters," Jack called out as he closed the tent flap. Okay, maybe it was a little bit evil of him to relish Daniel's silence... if Jack knew Daniel, he was rethinking his choice to sleep out. He settled into his bag and Daniel still hadn't moved off. A few moments later and he did. He had a feeling Daniel would get back at him, but it'd be worth the look he could imagine on Daniel's face. Critters. Heh! 

A few hours later and he woke to the sound of the tent zipper and muffled sneezes. He wasn't sleeping soundly, but as soon as Daniel settled into his bedroll, Jack rolled over and slept soundly for the rest of the night.

*****


	23. 23

*****

"Everything we brought in goes out, people," Jack called. They had just over eight hours to get to the gate; they had to get moving if they wanted time to play. Morning spent swimming, cooking, and in the case of Standish, sleeping, it was time to pack up and head out.

The hike would only take two hours give or take, and that left them four hours to shoot stuff and another two to clean up. The area near the gate was a perfect shooting gallery. Flat plains for miles, great visibility, no chance of anyone getting accidentally shot. Jack's hands itched to get on that rifle of Tanner's-- and he kept catching Tanner staring at his P90.

"Ezra, let's go," Dunne called out. "I'm not doing your share."

"Leave him alone, kid," Tanner answered before Standish could. "Ezra's done more work in the past two days than he has in months."

"Why thank you, Vin." Standish leaned back against his pack and went back to shuffling the ever present deck of cards. It looked like he'd packed his own things, at least. "I fear my hands will never recover after I was forced to wash dishes last evening."

"No one held a gun to your head, Ezra," Larabee said as he joined the group. 

Dunne and Tanner finished packing up the camp while the older men relaxed. Looked like it was part of their routine. Daniel approached from the beach, still soaked from his swim and Jack gave their camp a last once-over. Except for the fire pit and indentations from the tents, it would be hard to tell anyone had been there.

Last of the gear loaded up, Jack called, "Move out."

"I think someone is mistaking me for a soldier," from Standish and it took all the self-control Jack had to ignore him. 

With not quite military precision, their little band headed away from their campsite and toward the gate. 

Within three clicks into the hike, they were spread out in small groups, much the same as the hike in. The three marines led the way, then Sanchez and Nathan Jackson, then Daniel and surprisingly, Standish, keeping pace with Daniel. Jack followed them with Dunne and Wilmington dogging his heels. Wilmington was full of stories about the seven and their exploits, while Dunne added an occasional, "you're so full of crap, Buck!" to the conversation. Wilmington and quiet were definitely not on a first name basis.

Every so often Jack would check their six for Tanner and Larabee and each time he checked, they were further behind. The hike passed quick enough- it wasn't exactly strenuous. Early afternoon and they had six hours left on their vacation as the stargate came into view.

"Hold up," Jack called out, a few hundred yards from the gate platform. "Let's wait for our stragglers then we'll set up a firing range."

"Jack," Daniel called and nodded him over. Once at Daniel's side, Daniel said softly, "Uhm... you're sure it's all right to do this?"

"What?"

"Well, teach them how to use our weapons. And to waste ammunition."

"I thought you'd think this was a good idea."

"You thought I'd think shooting stuff was a good idea?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why in the world would you think that?"

"It's something these guys like to do," Jack said. Jeeze, it was obvious to him, why wasn't it to Daniel?"

Daniel studied him for a minute, searching for something. "Have fun," he finally said, then took his stuff and sat on the stairs up to the gate. He pulled out a book and sat down to read. Nathan joined him a few minutes later, and the next time Jack looked over, Josiah rounded out the threesome.

Larabee and Tanner still hadn't arrived by the time Jack set up an impromptu shooting range. That left him with Buck, JD and Ezra with an audience of marines and Teal'c. 

"Who wants to go first?" Jack asked.

"I'll do it," Wilmington said, stepping forward.

Jack showed him how the P90 worked, got into a short argument about safety glasses and sat back to watch.

First time he pulled the trigger, Wilmington nearly jumped. "That's the smallest Gatling gun I ever seen!"

"Gatling gun? Yeah, I guess it's sort of like that. It's a sub-machine gun. You can fire fifty rounds out of each clip. It's set to automatic right now, but it's also got a single shot setting."

Wilmington took his time taking aim and pressed the trigger again. A burst of gunfire and he didn't come close to hitting the target. "Damn. Can I try the single shot setting? How far out does this thing shoot?"

"About 200 yards or so and you lose accuracy." Jack took the gun and adjusted the settings before giving it back.

Wilmington took aim again and again completely missed the dinner plate target. "Now don't you go laughing at me, JD. That gun's gonna knock you off your feet. Hell, I can't hit anything with this thing." Buck handed back the P90 and drew his own weapon. Three shots, three hits to the dinner pan and Wilmington stepped back. "That's how you shoot. Your turn, JD."

Jack scanned the area again, catching sight of Tanner and Larabee on the horizon. Shooting got their attention, Jack decided. "Here, JD. Do you want to try?"

"My gun first." JD drew his guns quick and fired without aiming, firing off three quick shots. Two missed and one hit the target, almost on the edge.

"Hell, JD, this ain't a quick draw contest. Least not till Chris gets here, anyway."

JD glared at Buck, took aim and hit the target with all three shots. "I was just having some fun, Buck."

"Yeah, and now you need to reload. You wasted your first three shots."

"But I'd be shooting first and the other guy would be running for cover."

"Aw, stop making excuses kid. You was trying to show off."

"Okay," Jack said, interrupting the argument. "Want to try this one?"

By the time Tanner and Larabee joined them Jack was taking his P90 back from Dunne. "Not bad," he told JD. "Anyone else want to try? Nathan? Josiah? Daniel?" Daniel didn't even bother looking up from his book while Nathan and Josiah both shook their heads no.

"Bout time you two showed up," Buck shouted. "Hell, Chris, you gotta try this gun. Could take down a whole passel of desperados and you only need to pull the trigger once!"

"That so, Buck?" Chris asked as he dropped his pack.

Jack set off to change the targets and stopped by the MALP to pull off Tanner's rifle. "Can I try this?" he asked. He'd been itching to get his hands on that gun since they started the hike.

"Want help getting set?" Tanner asked and Jack nodded. He watched closely as Tanner assembled the gun, then loaded it for him. 

"Hey, where are your glasses?" Buck asked.

"You need them for the P90 because the shells come out at you. You don't need them for the other guns."

"Wrong, Jack," Daniel said, not looking up from his book.

"Now he pays attention," Jack muttered before donning the glasses. Technically, Daniel was right, even if practically he was wrong. Jack took his time taking aim and squeezed off a shot. He missed and the recoil felt like it might take his shoulder off. 

"Sight might be a little off," Tanner said, taking the gun. "It probably got jostled."

"Looked all right to me," Jack said. Hey, he knew what he was doing! He had an Expert Marksmanship ribbon and the air force didn't just hand those out with the uniform.

Tanner took the gun, sighted the target and squeezed off a shot. It hit the target dead center. He adjusted the sight and handed it back to Jack. "Now try it."

Jack prepared himself for the recoil, took aim and fired. A satisfying thud and he too hit the target dead center. "Sweet," Jack said, handing the gun back to Tanner. "You can try the P90, then we'll move the target back and really test out your rifle."

Tanner took his time getting set up, cradling the P90 like he was born to it as Jack put out new targets. After firing a few rounds, Tanner got used to the new weapon and was deadly accurate. 

"Nice gun," Tanner said as he handed back the P90.

"Chris, do you want to try it?"

"I want to try Daniel's," Chris said, turning his attention to Daniel.

Daniel held out his Sig and Larabee took it. 

Jack leaned over and showed him the safety and how to release it, not quite sure it was the smartest thing he'd done yet. Trust, he reminded himself before backing off.

Larabee was deadly accurate at all three distances Jack set up. Now that was a skill he could appreciate. 

He handed back Daniel's gun, barrel first. "Good balance on that gun. Real smooth trigger, too."

Jack took the weapon back from Larabee and nodded toward Larabee's guns. 

Larabee got a wide grin on his face and Jack watched him scan the area, placing all of the people. Larabee spun, drew his gun and fired off two rounds, hitting two targets dead center. 

He'd never seen someone draw a gun so quick before-- and the guy's aim was true. But there wasn't much need for that kind of shooting, these days. "Fast," was all Jack said.

"I'm out of practice," Larabee said, shrugging. 

"Hell, Chris, you're fast *and* accurate, drunk, sober, asleep, sitting down, standing up, on horseback, inside, outside, in the bathtub..."

"We get it, Buck." Larabee said with a sigh.

"Now me, I'm not as fast as Chris, but I hit what I'm aimin at and I don't waste bullets," Wilmington said with a pointed look at Dunne.

Standish stepped forward from where he'd been watching quietly. "Since we've all seen each other's skills, how about Mr. Tanner and Colonel O'Neill compete for stakes with Mr. Tanner's rifle."

Jack studied Standish for a minute, trying to decide if maybe it was a sucker's bet. It could be fun, though. "Sure," he finally said. "Tanner?"

"I don't want your money but I'll shoot with ya."

"You don't want my money?" Jack asked, his voice going high. Kid sure was confident in himself. 

"I want to do something else, first," Tanner said quietly and Jack looked away from where he was adjusting the sights on his gun to Tanner - who was studying Teal'c. Teal'c had been a silent observer through the entire display, standing back out of the way, just watching.

"I want to try his," Tanner said.

"How did you know this is a weapon?" Teal'c asked, holding up his Staff Weapon.

"Couldn't hardly be nothin else, the way you don't ever let go of it. It definitely ain't some fancy walking stick," Tanner snorted out. "Can I try it?"

"That might not be a good idea," Jack said, stopping Teal'c, who'd stepped toward Vin, Staff Weapon extended in invitation. "It might be too much, for now. We've only got an hour left before we have to clean up and leave."

Tanner shrugged, probably hadn't expected a yes. "You want to shoot mine or yours?"

"Your choice. The P90 isn't made for distances though and I'd like to try for distance."

"JD, go set up some targets," Chris ordered and JD scurried off. 

"How far?" he asked as he jogged off.

"Put out five, about fifty yards apart or so," Jack answered for Chris. "Can you handle that?"

"Like lickin butter off a knife," Tanner said, smirking.

What the hell kind of expression was that? No visuals, please, Jack told his unruly imagination. But the face in his imagination was Daniel's, not Tanner's. 

"Your rifle, then?" Jack asked.

Tanner nodded. "You want to shoot first?"

"We'll take turns, coin toss to see who's up first."

Jack flipped a quarter in the air and Tanner called out, "Tails."

It landed heads up and Jack held out his arm for Tanner's gun.

"Wait, wait," from Standish and Jack took his time getting set up. "What will the wager consist of?"

"I want to see my horse," Tanner said, immediately.

"You teach Daniel all the Native American dialects you know."

"Gentlemen, please," Standish said, arms spread out. "Now what kind of wager is that?"

"Native American?" Tanner asked, head cocked to the side.

"The tribes," Daniel answered before Jack could say, 'Indians.' 

"That's what you want to bet?" Tanner asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure." There wasn't much else Tanner had to offer. "So if I out shoot you, you teach Daniel and if you out shoot me, you get to go see your horse."

Tanner extended his hand and Jack took it. 

"Those are the most ridiculous stakes I've ever heard," Standish muttered as he took a seat on the gate steps next to Daniel. "The least you can do is pay attention, Dr. Jackson, since you will be the one to reap the benefits of the wager if Colonel O'Neill were to win, which he won't."

"You sound sure," Daniel said.

Jack listened in, he couldn't help it. Standish sounded pretty sure of himself and of Tanner.

"They will be shooting Vin's gun and you have never seen Mr. Tanner shoot."

"And you've never seen Colonel O'Neill shoot," Daniel answered.

"I don't need to," Standish muttered. 

Jack took his time getting set, felt and listened for the wind, watched the grasses sway. He slowly pulled the trigger, grin forming when the plate went flying. "You're up," he said as he handed the rifle back to Tanner.

Three rounds and six targets hit, but they were still only a hundred and fifty yards out. The fourth target would be a challenge, but last time Jack was on the range, he went ninety-five percent from two hundred yards.

He hit his target and handed the gun back to Tanner. 

"Nice shootin'," Tanner said, nodding as he took the gun. He set himself and took his shot, sending the plate high in the air.

"Not bad," Jack said.

"Colonel O'Neill," one of the marines called out and Jack nodded to him.

"We have thirty minutes before we're scheduled to return, sir."

"Crap," Jack said. "Think you can make your shot quick?"

Tanner stared at the gate, unreadable expression on his face. He turned back to Jack and nodded.

"Okay then," Jack said and set up for his shot. He must have rushed because his shot didn't even kick up the dirt around the target. He climbed back to his feet and handed over the rifle without a word.

Tanner got ready to take his shot. Jack held his breath and watched. Tanner took his time setting up and squeezed the trigger slowly. A slight delay and the plate shot into the air, two hundred and fifty yards away.

Tanner got to his feet slowly, cradling his rifle, a big smile on his face.

"Nice," Jack said and reached out to shake Vin's hand.

Before he could get close, Wilmington rushed in and hefted Vin into the air. 

"Knew you could do it, Junior," Buck shouted, swinging Tanner back down onto his feet. "No one shoots like Vin does, not even a Colonel!"

Not fair, Jack wanted to say - he hadn't been to the range in weeks and it wasn't a gun he was used to shooting.

"Nice shooting, Vin," Chris said, as he put his arm around Tanner's shoulder. "I knew you'd win," Larabee said, smiling and the grin Tanner returned lit up his entire face. 

"Weren't nothing," Tanner said, dropping his head, still smiling. "Made longer shots gettin us dinner."

"Longer?" Jack asked. 

"Sure." Tanner said, his eyes still twinkling. "Once you're shooting out past 'bout two hundred yards or so, the sight might be a little off. Might have forgot to tell you."

"I can see how that could have slipped your mind," Jack said, returning Tanner's grin. Hell, it was up to him to verify the accuracy of a strange rifle. Tanner wasn't obligated to let him know.

"Hey, Vin," JD said, pushing himself into the small circle. "Ezra made a bet with one of the corporals. You sure surprised him! Ezra took him for a hundred dollars! A hundred dollars! Can you believe that?"

"That right, Ezra?" Larabee called out.

Ezra sighed. "I'm only getting us started on a stake, Chris."

"And what did you put up in return?"

"My Derringer," Standish said as he palmed the small gun. "Not to worry, I wagered one of my own personal possessions, Mr. Larabee. As I have told you before, I abhor gambling, but I do so love a sure thing. And if anything can ever be counted on as a sure thing, it is Mr. Tanner's skill with a gun."

Tanner ducked his head again, almost shyly, but still grinning ear to ear.

"Hey, I'm rated an expert marksman," Jack couldn't help almost shouting.

"Yes, I do believe you've already informed us of that fact," Standish said, smiling.

"Colonel?" one of the guards called, breaking up the group. "Fifteen minutes, sir."

"You heard the man, let's start cleaning up. Turn over your weapons to Daniel and he'll load them up."

"We have to clean them," Larabee said. "Don't know how long it'll be before we can get our hands on them again."

"I'll do it," Jack said. "I'd like to take a closer look at them," he explained. "I don't mind."

"No one touches my gun but me," Chris said, matter of fact.

"You let Vin touch your gun," JD piped in. 

Okay... if that had come from Standish, Jack would have cringed. Coming from Dunne, he could shrug it off. What was going on in his head, the way his mind kept giving everything a double meaning? 

"That's different," Larabee said. "I do his, too. Don't mean I'm letting any other man touch it."

How the hell was he supposed to stamp out the double meanings with Larabee going on like that? Jack checked his watch - down to ten minutes and they'd better get a move on.

"I'd really like to look at them and I don't mind cleaning them. I'll treat them like they're my own," Jack said. They still didn't look convinced. "We have to go back," Jack said. "You don't have time to clean them. I'll have to do mine anyway."

"You'll treat them like they're your own?" Larabee asked, making it sound like an oath.

Jack nodded. Why the hell was he reduced to begging to clean someone else's gun? They needed to go if they were to stay on schedule and he really did want to get a look. 

The six remaining men studied each other, then Chris nodded. "Suit yourself," he said, placing his weapon on the MALP. The rest of the men followed suit and Jack helped Daniel stow the last of the gear, then checked over his GDO. "Five minutes," he called out.

He did a quick inventory of their little group, all were grouped close to the gate except Tanner- and now Larabee had wandered off too. Jack set off after them. They were far enough away that it was going to be close, keeping to the schedule.

He came on them just in time to hear Tanner.

"Please, Chris," Tanner begged softly, "Please don't ask me to go back there."

Shit. And Larabee wasn't making a sound. They couldn't leave Tanner here. It wasn't an option.

Larabee put his hand on Tanner's shoulder and gave a little tug. Tanner turned just enough for Jack to see his face. He wished he hadn't. The wide, triumphant smile and twinkle in his eyes were gone. But deep seated pain was written all over his face and strong enough to hit Jack right in the gut.

Larabee still hadn't said anything. He wasn't going to ask Tanner to return, Jack knew. How could he after hearing that plea and seeing that look. He couldn't, but Jack could.

"Chris?" Jack asked and Larabee turned to face him while Vin turned the other way. "Uh... a minute?" 

Larabee looked from Tanner, to Jack, then to Tanner's back again. He slowly moved to Jack's side and Jack led them far enough away so Tanner wouldn't hear him.

"You're too close, Chris."

Larabee wouldn't look at him. "You don't understand. I can't ask him to do it."

"I know." 

Chris looked to Vin, who'd taken a seat on the ground and leaned back on his pack, staring into the distance, not showing any signs of going anywhere.

"Let me try?"

Larabee shook his head. "He won't listen to you."

"I can try at least. Go back with Daniel and the others. I won't leave him here alone, Chris."

Larabee's eyes narrowed to slits and his mouth into a tight line. "You planning on forcing him?" he asked, softly.

Jack looked him in the eye and kept his own voice soft. "Not even if it's the only way."

Chris turned and looked at Vin's back. "He shouldn't have to make this choice."

"I know."

"Can he stay?" Chris asked, looking at Jack again.

"We only supply this base every six months. We don't open the gate on a daily or even a weekly basis. It won't work. We'll find another place if that's what he really wants."

"So he could stay, but he'd have no way to get back for six months, if he wanted to?"

Jack sighed. "There are other considerations, Chris. I don't think you being here is going to help. He'll make the choice to come back for you."

Chris shook his head. "I can stay with him."

"Do you really want that?" Jack asked, thinking he already knew the answer to that.

Chris huffed an exasperated breath. "No. I don't. I want... hell, I don't know what I want, but I admit I'm curious."

"Trust me, " Jack asked.

Chris stared at him for a long minute, searching. Finally, he nodded and walked away without a look back at Tanner. Now that took guts. Jack took a few minutes to plan his mission, waiting until all the others were through the gate before sitting down next to Tanner.

"I'm not going back there," Tanner said after a few minutes.

"You can't stay here."

"You going to try to make me?"

"No. I couldn't catch you for one. Two, I have a feeling you could hide from a platoon for a few months."

Tanner looked at him finally. "You're right. I done had to hide from the army before. Don't have a problem doing it again, neither."

"If you stay here, you won't see another person for months."

"Done that before too. Near on a year I didn't see another soul."

He wasn't going to mention Chris. He didn't know Tanner well enough to fight dirty. "You ready to do it again?"

"If I have to." Tanner looked to the edge of the forest, probably deciding where he'd start running.

"You won't. I won't leave a man behind. Ever. You stay, I stay."

Tanner turned his head back. "You'd do that? Give up your life due to me?"

"I won't leave a man behind, Vin."

Vin shook his head at that. "You ain't like other army men I known."

"Good, because I'm Air Force, not Army. I wish you guys would get that straight."

Tanner rolled his eyes at that. "You ever heard of Red River?"

"Uhn-Uh."

"You ain't nothing like them soldiers."

"Is that a good thing?"

Vin slid a sideways look at him. "I'da killed ya by now if'n you was like them."

Jack's eyebrows climbed high on his forehead. "That is a good thing, then. Look, Vin, I know it feels like you're in jail. In a way, you are in jail. The problem is that if we just let you loose, you would probably end up in real jail pretty quick. There are a lot of rules now that you don't know and you won't understand until you're caught up."

"I wouldn't end up in jail. Chris might. Ezra, too."

"Chris would, huh?"

"He's got a bit of a temper."

Jack grinned. "That so? I'd have never guessed. Why would Ezra end up in jail?"

"He's slick as they come and he ain't as smart as he likes ta think he is. Reckon the law would catch onto him right quick."

"Maybe. You're a good shot," Jack added, trying a new strategy.

"Grandpa used to say I was a natural."

Jack shrugged, trying to keep it nice and casual. He had Vin talking, and he hoped he had him listening, too. "I don't know about that, but I'd like to take you on again. We have a gun range on the base. Outside. I could take you there every few days. I'd win, too."

Vin quirked a tiny grin at him. "Maybe."

"Maybe I'd win?"

"Maybe if'n I was having a bad day."

"I owe you a trip to see your horse," Jack reminded him, but Vin turned his head again, so he couldn't see his expression.

"You ain't going to welch on that are ya?" he finally asked.

"Nope."

"You think Teal'c would let me try his walking stick?"

"You'd have to ask him," Jack said with a small shrug.

Vin looked to the jungle again, but his eyes seemed to be looking further than that, somehow. He was silent for a long moment, then finally whispered, "I don't know if I can do it."

"Ah, Teal'c's easy to talk to. Just ignore the eyebrow thing he does."

Vin looked him square in the eye again. "You know what I'm talking about."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do. Vin... I'll try my best to get you out a few times a week. I won't make promises I can't keep or promises for someone else. If I'm not there, I can't swear to you that someone else will take you out."

Vin looked away, then back at him again. "When you're there, you will, though?"

"Yeah, I will. How old are you, Vin?"

"Not sure. Twenty-seven, I think. Maybe twenty-eight."

Jack let out a long breath. "You have a lot of life ahead of you. If you can handle some tough times, you have good times to look forward to."

"Had enough hard times to last any man a lifetime."

Jack didn't doubt it, but he had no idea what to say to that. "Well, like I said, I'm not leaving you here, so you better get used to looking at me."

"Good thing you ain't ugly, then. You got any food in your pack?"

Tanner was definitely nuts, but Jack was intrigued. "A couple of day's worth, why?"

"I'm thinkin on how that big critter's gonna taste. Probably not so good. If Chris was here, he could make it into a passable stew."

Jack sighed, playing along, as long as it kept Vin talking. "I guess we could go stay with the science geeks. We'd have to sleep out though- and I don't think they have enough rations for us, too."

"Geeks? Like in the circus?"

"Circus?"

Vin cocked his head. "I saw a circus once. Came through a little town I was in with my grandpa. Was after mama passed so's I had to be bout seven or so, I reckon. Them geeks were downright frightful. Bit the head right off a live chicken."

Jack chuckled, the image vivid in his mind. "Different kind of geek. Very different."

"You reckon Daniel wants to learn some more phrases?"

"I'm sure he does. He's only told me so about a hundred times."

"Don't know why. Nobody to use 'em with."

Jack leaned in conspiratorially. "He's weird that way."

That sadness-- and the fear-- washed over Vin's face again. "I don't know if I can do it. Be like choosing to be buried underground. Wasn't my choice, last time."

"I'll get you outside as often as I can. That much, I can promise," Jack said softly.

"It's more than just sun and fresh air. It's... It's my life being my own, again. Ain't nobody responsible for my life but me," Vin said, voice strained.

Jack finally began to understand, but it wasn't a realization that helped much. The reality was that these guys would never, ever feel the freedom and self-reliance that they once had. At least not if they were bound to Earth, and by extension, the SGC.

"Vin, if you want, I can have someone start looking for a planet for you. Just not this planet. Our teams will be here another year, then they're leaving. There's a better solution, but it will take time."

"There might be someplace else, then?" Vin asked, the first glimmer of hope in his expression.

Jack nodded. "We'll start looking, Vin." 

"You give me your word on that?" Vin asked.

"Yes. You have my word," Jack answered, sticking out his hand. Vin took it, looked him in the eye again, and shook.

Jack let out a relieved breath, then stood, bracing his hands on his thighs. Tanner stood next to him, sent one last, longing look toward the treeline.

"You reckon your general's going to be riled at me when we get back?"

Jack grinned. "Nah, Hammond's a pushover. Besides, he's from Texas. He has to like you."

Vin grinned back, but a little wistfully. "Us Texans got to stick together."

"You ready?"

Vin shook his head. "No. But I'll come along anyway. Those good times? They include getting poked and prodded like a cow going to slaughter by them doctors of yours?"

"It's not that bad, I've been through it hundreds of times."

"When I was sick... I don't like my life not being my own."

"I know what you mean, Vin. Doc Warner will be on duty. A man, at least."

"The lady doc was nice, but..."

"She's still a woman," Jack finished for him. He almost couldn't understand Tanner's problem with Fraiser. He was so used to women doctors, the fact they were women almost didn't register. But he knew what it was like, being in the infirmary for long stretches, no privacy and dependent on people for every need. It sucked.

"Figure Chris must have a burr under his saddle by now. He's likely to be grouchy."

Jack snorted; he'd run interference with Hammond, but not Larabee. "Him, you can deal with yourself."

Vin gave him a sour look, but trudged along side him toward the gate.

"Hey," Jack said, "I have Daniel's burrs to deal with, I don't need someone else's."

Vin chuckled. "Daniel gets burrs?"

Jack groaned at the memories of Daniel's various burrs over the years. "You have no idea."

Jack dialed out and when the wormhole formed, he and Tanner stepped through together.

*****


	24. 24

*****

six weeks later

*****

 

"Three."

"Three?"

Chris didn't look up from his hand. He didn't have to; he could imagine clear enough the sarcastic arch of Ezra's eyebrows. "Just deal the cards, Ezra."

"If you insist. It is, after all, your money you are wagering."

"It is now."

"Well, that was just a small run of bad luck on my part, Mr. Larabee."

Chris did look up then. "I thought you didn't believe in luck, Ezra."

"It seems many of my beliefs have been shattered over the past three years. Why would that particular belief be spared."

"Feeling sorry for yourself, Ezra?"

"Why no, Christopher, I'm merely observing some hard truths."

Chris had the fleeting thought that he'd regret asking, but boredom drove him to curiosity. "Such as?"

"Such as when I signed up for a dollar a day plus room and board, I did not believe I was making a Faustian bargain."

"You saying I'm the devil?" Chris grinned, despite himself.

"Not you, Chris. I am referring to Judge Travis. I did not realize that I would be signing away my very life for the mere price of a pardon from a backwater municipality. I would have been better off serving my sentence."

Chris shook his head, not particularly in the mood for a self-pitying Ezra, even if he could understand it in this case. "A little dramatic, there, Ezra. Those stories you've been watching on the television every day having an influence on you?"

"Come now, you cannot tell me that if you knew at the time the bargain was struck that we would spend the rest of our natural lives in each other's company, you would not have mounted your horse and fled in the opposite direction."

"Those plays *are* having an influence on you, Ezra."

"You probably would have signed on even had you known," Ezra replied, shooting him a sarcastic look.

"Two bits."

"I see your two bits and raise a dollar. How am I to recoup my losses with these stakes?"

Chris snorted, eyes on his cards. "Not my problem, Ezra."

Ezra gave a dramatic sigh, then straightened and gave him a glare through narrowed eyes. "You still would have signed on! Of course, why wouldn't you have? Your closest friend and partner are both here, there was nothing for you there and this *is* a grand adventure. I must admit, I'd share the sentiment if it did not require us to be confined to this institution-- and to each other."

Chris gritted his teeth, regretting this conversation, as he'd known he would. "When we go to our new home, you can do anything you want."

"Perhaps some of us wish to remain here. I am hopeful we will not be here, at this installation, indefinitely. Dr. Jackson is still speaking of integrating us into modern society."

Chris jerked his head up to look at Ezra, eye to eye. "You speaking for yourself?"

"Mr. Wilmington wishes to remain on this planet, and whatever Buck does, JD will do as well."

"Buck tell you that?" Chris asked, surprised, and angry for knowing he wasn't wearing his poker face.

"You mean he hasn't told you?"

"Another dollar," Chris said absently, his mind in a whir.

"Call. The only one who wishes to be relocated is Vin. What about you? Do you wish to abandon your home?"

Chris' jaw clenched. "This isn't home, Ezra."

"It's the closest we have to a home. I would think since Mr. Tanner is able to get outside more often than the rest of us, he would be somewhat more content."

"It's not just about getting outside."

Ezra dropped his cards on the table and leaned forward. "I understand that, Mr. Larabee. But I don't see Mr. Tanner fitting in in this time period. What if he decides to mete out more justice. From what I have observed, Frontier Justice no longer applies."

Tension gripped Chris from the inside out, though he gained more control of his outward appearance, he thought. "You still stuck on that?"

"Chris. Really. He sliced off a man's eyelids, nailed him to a tree trunk and then removed his genitals and hung them for him to stare at while he bled to death. Aren't you disturbed that he is capable of such behavior?"

Chris took a quick glance around, to be certain nobody was in earshot. "Ezra, what did I tell you?"

Ezra rolled his eyes belligerently. "No one is listening. It's one thing to shoot back when being threatened. The savagery behind his actions... I... well, as a civilized man, I cannot understand anyone condoning those actions, no matter the crime committed." 

"You know Vin--" Chris started, but was interrupted.

"I have not been able to look at my friend in the same light since," Ezra hissed, and for the first time, Chris could see that Ezra was as seriously disturbed as he claimed.

Chris sighed, and shook his head. "You don't know the whole story, Ezra. Don't judge a man when you don't know the facts."

"There is nothing that warrants retribution so savage. Nothing."

"That's your opinion, Ezra."

"No, that is the opinion of society, Mr. Larabee."

Chris opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again, then glanced around the room one more time before pinning Ezra with a hard stare. "Society doesn't know the facts either." 

Ezra swallowed, then picked up his hand again. "I call."

"Two pair, jacks over twos."

"Three sixes."

Chris still held Ezra captive with his stare, thinking he could compel Ezra to do his will. "Ezra, let it go."

Ezra dropped his eyes. "I fear I will never remove that image from my mind, Chris."

Chris cleared his throat, and tilted his head to recapture Ezra's eyes. "Well then, you'd better find some way to deal with it."

Ezra looked up at him, defiance tightening his face. "If Colonel O'Neill were to learn of Mr. Tanner's savagery, I doubt he would escort him to the surface so often."

Chris slowly scooted his chair back, and leaned over the table, his palms bracing him. "He won't learn of it. Not from any of us. Since no one else knows, there ain't any way they're going to find out."

He stared as Ezra with as much menace as he'd ever felt. It took a while-- enough that Chris actually felt his respect for Ezra climb a notch-- but Ezra did eventually avert his eyes, that defiance wilting at last.

"Excuse me, but it is nearly time for my daily look at modern society."

"You mean time for you to watch television?" Chris asked, his grin not as satisfying as he'd like.

"It's research. You might consider doing some yourself. Oh yes, you're going to leave when a new planet is found. Don't be surprised if only you and Vin choose to go."

Chris slid his chair back under the table as he watched Ezra saunter toward the television. "You planning to run out on me again?"

Ezra stopped and looked over his shoulder. "I plan on going nowhere. In this instance, you will be the one who is running out on the rest of us."

Chris stared a hole into Ezra's back, but as much as he willed it, that hole never actually materialized.

*****

Chris leaned against the doorway, watching Buck use that little electric, bladeless razor on his face. "You really want to stay here, Buck?"

Buck faltered just a little, and Chris was suddenly glad for that sissy razor. "You been talking to Ezra?"

"Played cards until it was time for his stories."

Buck resumed his shaving, but cleared his throat and answered. "Nathan and Josiah don't want to leave, either. Vin's the only wants to go, pard. Question is, you going to give up everything for him?"

Chris held his hands up in question. "Give up what, Buck? The promise that some time in the future, we maybe get our lives back? That good enough for you?"

Buck put down the shaver device and turned to face him fully. "We been given a gift, Chris. Some of us had to pay a price for that gift. The way I see it, you ain't had to pay a price, so you're ready to throw it all away. Maybe some of us ain't."

"What the hell are you talking about, a gift?"

Buck stuck his hands on his hips and cocked his head. "Way I figure it is, we would have all died in that shootout with the Williams gang. You know it and I know it. Instead, we got a second chance and we get to see stuff and experience stuff none of us could have ever imagined."

Chris turned around, waving his hands for effect. "In case you haven't noticed, we've done nothing but sit around for six weeks."

Buck rolled his eyes. "Nathan's been studying doctoring, Josiah's made himself a church out of one of them empty rooms, JD and Vin been getting out every chance they get... you been spending all your time book learning. Doesn't sound like nothing to me."

"And what have you been doing, Buck? Sounds like you've been spending too much time with Ezra."

"Well at least we're trying to learn about what's out there! And you got no say about who I spend my time with. For your information, the ladies here can't resist me. Buck Wilmington's animal magnetism is timeless!"

Chris didn't take the bait. "You'd be better off studying history so you know what's out there."

"Why? You been doing enough of that for the rest of us. And I am studying history. Got a whole collection of them movie things I been watching."

"They're about as accurate as Shakespeare's version of Henry XIII. You and Ezra need to do more than watch that television."

Buck snorted. "Hell, Vin and JD keep taking it over to play them game things. I thought they was going to skin Ezra when he traded one of 'em for some money. Never seen such a bad run of luck at the tables outta him."

"He did what?"

"He planned on buying it back when his luck turned, but the two of them weren't willin to wait. Something about it being their favorite game or something. I got no idea."

Chris shook his head to clear it of Buck's diversion. "Buck. Listen to yourself. Life is more than hiding in some cave, watching that television box and playing games. How soon do you think it'll be before you get to have a life rather than look at it through some contraption? Huh?"

Buck stiffened, obviously bristling. "All right, so they haven't said exactly when we we're gonna get out of here for real. Doesn't mean it won't happen."

Chris dropped his head for a long minute before he met Buck's eyes again. "I just hope that when it does happen, you'll be young enough to enjoy that life. You might be willing to wait that long, but I don't know if I am."

Chris turned to leave, stopping only for a quick look a Buck's torn expression. Hell, he didn't blame the guys for taking pleasure in the few comforts they had in the place. But they had to realize that they'd only be happy with fancy gadgets for so long. Chris knew he was the lucky one, just as Buck and Ezra said. He had Vin through all of this. The others had loved ones and family they'd left behind, while Chris had brought his own with him. He realized it was only reasonable that the others stick with each other through this-- and keep playing with their damned gadgets. He just hoped that in the end, it was enough for them.

*****

"Colonel O'Neill, please report to the Gateroom immediately."

"That's me," Jack said, as he dropped an artifact he had been pawing only a moment before. "You coming?" he asked Daniel, figuring if something was up, Daniel might want to be in on it.

"I need to figure out what this thing is, Jack," Daniel said without looking up. "It's important to Baal - important enough to sacrifice half his personal guard to try to retrieve."

"Right, that thing you picked up on our last mission," Jack said as he peered over Daniel's shoulder.

Jack opened his mouth again to tell Daniel to come find him if he got bored, but the shrill ringing of Daniel's phone made him jump back from where he'd been leaning over Daniel's shoulder-- possibly a little too close for comfort. Jack excelled at annoyance, and at times it pleased him immensely.

"Jackson," Daniel answered as soon as he snagged the phone. "Yes, he's here, but he's on the way there," Daniel said, turning a curious look his way.

Realizing how urgent it must be if Hammond was calling for him not ten seconds after a page, Jack got serious, whirled away without looking back and made his way toward the gateroom. He hauled ass, taking the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. He hadn't heard any alarms, but he wouldn't have heard the gateroom alarms up in Daniel's office, just the base-wide alarms.

As the door to the gateroom opened, he was nearly knocked over by a medical team, wheeling in an isolation unit.

He spotted Hammond across the room and sidestepped the medical teams rushing about. "General?"

"Colonel O'Neill, SG2 ran into some trouble on their mission. I don't have all the details, yet, but we have one survivor about to come through the gate." Hammond nodded up to the control room, then looked back to Jack. "We need to clear the area - the medical teams are ready."

"What's going on, Sir?"

"When SG2 arrived on the planet, the entire population of P3X-740 was dead. Biological weapon, apparently. We don't know who is behind it or what they hope to accomplish. Hopefully, Lieutenant Mills can fill us in. When she dialed in moments ago, she warned us to set up the isolation unit in case she's come into contact with this weapon."

"Ah, jeez," Jack muttered. This was going to be ugly. He could feel it.

"We're ready, Sir," Dr. Fraiser called out."

"You heard her, people, evacuate the gateroom!"

Jack and Hammond watched from the control room as the iris opened and a smallish, lone figure stepped through the event horizon. The Lieutenant waved to them to signal she was clear, then closed the isolation unit. The controller closed the wormhole and a strange silence descended over the gateroom and control room.

Fraiser, wearing a biohazard suit, entered the gateroom and confirmed the integrity of the isolation chamber, ran her gadgets to check the air in the room for foreign substances, then signaled to the people watching from the control room. "Clear, Sir," she called up to them.

Jack looked to Hammond, who nodded, and they took the steps together and went back into the gateroom. "Lieutenant?" Hammond asked.

"Sir, the situation on P3X-740 is critical. All inhabitants are dead."

"What happened?"

"We arrived on the planet and hiked the twenty clicks to the town, but when we got there, we found only bodies. We'd just been there a month ago, sir. They were all dead. The population was over 50,000, sir."

Jack and Hammond shared a look, and Jack readied himself, mentally, for a mission.

"Go on, Lieutenant."

"There were no marks on any of the bodies, but they all were bleeding from their mouths, ears and noses, leading us to believe it was a biological agent. From the condition of the bodies otherwise, we could tell they hadn't been dead long. Whatever hit them, acted fast. We were fired upon before long, though and so we dropped back to the forest."

"What happened to the rest of SG2?"

She paused for a moment, and Jack knew that the adrenaline was wearing off, and reality was setting in. She was the one survivor Hammond mentioned, so that meant she was about to explain the fate of the rest of her team. Jack didn't envy her having to go through this part.

"We found their rings and took out the Jaffa guarding them, and Major Penhall and Captain Reed infiltrated their ship. Major Penhall stayed behind and blew the ship. He was able to radio us with some vital intel before... before it went. He didn't make it out of there. Captain Reed and Lieutenant Washington held back the Goa'uld and sent me to run for the gate to report."

Jack cleared his throat. "Captain Reed and Lieutenant Washington. You don't think they could have made it?"

"No," Mills answered, her voice choking a little. "They had to engage at close range. If they didn't go down by staff blast or ribbon device, they'd have been close enough to contract the plague."

"My god," Hammond whispered, echoing Jack's sentiments. 

"There's more, Sir, and it's bad."

Hammond nodded at Mills. "Go on."

"It was Linea."

Stunned, Jack turned to Hammond. "Sir, we left her with no memory of who she was. It can't be."

"Colonel, it was. She is with an unknown Goa'uld and everyone on that planet is dead. They plan to unleash Linea's plague everywhere they can, anywhere they think it's possible they can get it spread here to Earth. Linea, this Goa'uld and his Jaffa are genetically immune to the plague, but all other humans are susceptible. This is what Major Penhall was able to communicate to us before the ship blew."

Jack shook his head, confused. "That doesn't make sense. What the hell can they accomplish by wiping out everyone. There'd be no one to rule, then!"

"The threat alone would be enough, Colonel. And it sounds very personal to Earth."

Personal grudges against Earth weren't new, and those who held them tended to be persistent. "Permission to stage a mission, sir?"

"Wait, Colonel O'Neill. You won't be able to capture the Goa'uld. How many Jaffa are left, Lieutenant?"

"At least a dozen, sir."

"How long before they reach the gate?" Jack asked.

"If Captain Reed and Lieutenant Washington didn't hold them off for very long, less than four hours, sir. I made it in two... but I'm a competitive marathoner. It could be as much as six or eight. Linea will slow them down."

Jack looked back at Hammond. "And Goa'uld don't run, sir."

Hammond nodded. "We cannot let them leave that planet. Ideas, Colonel?"

Jack blew out a long breath, gathering his thoughts as quickly as he could. "A dozen Jaffa, a Goa'uld and Linea. It won't be easy, sir. We don't have anything that will penetrate a Goa'uld shield."

"And anyone stepping foot on that planet may be exposed to a deadly virus." Fraiser added. "We have no idea what we're dealing with, how easily it's contracted. Even if you make it back, sir..."

She had a point, Jack knew. Even if they took out the Goa'uld, Linea and the Jaffa, they were taking a chance that anyone going on the mission could contract this plague. 

"Sir," Lieutenant Mills called from within the isolation chamber, "if that biological weapon leaves that planet... you didn't see the bodies. We didn't find even one survivor... all those people."

Jack looked at Hammond, then the two of them looked toward the Lieutenant again. She appeared healthy enough, if understandably shaken, but she was a living representation of what they all faced if that plague got off the planet. 

"Can we send a nuke through the gate?" Jack asked.

"Not and be sure we've removed the threat. We have to have confirmation that this Goa'uld, Linea and those Jaffa are eliminated." Hammond said.

Janet stepped closer to Hammond, then, and added, "Well, sir, and if possible, we should send in a team, with full hazmat gear once this Goa'uld is gone, so we can get some air samples and do some studies. If somehow this thing already isn't contained to just this planet, we need to be prepared."

That meant a nuke was truly last resort, and from their shared frowns, they all knew it.

Silence hung heavy for a long moment. Mills was holding it together, but she was probably going to crack soon, especially when she truly realized she might be carrying that damned plague. Jack sure as hell didn't want anyone else having to go through that, so they had to think of something.

Suddenly, the light bulb came on. Jack gave a shake of his head to subtly pull Hammond aside. "General. I have an idea."

"Go ahead."

"I've been at the range a lot lately. And I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks..."

"Go on, Colonel," Hammond said.

"A sniper could take out a Goa'uld."

Hammonds eyebrows went up. "A sniper?"

Jack nodded. "They have to manually activate their shields. A sniper, far enough away that he couldn't be detected, could fire off a shot and it would take out the Goa'uld without warning. They wouldn't even hear the rifle report... they'd be dead before the sound got to them."

Hammond winced a little. "That's a risky proposition, Colonel O'Neill. One shot, from at least a half mile away. The kind of skill that requires... we don't have any snipers stationed here. And we couldn't get one here fast enough."

"I could do it, sir."

The General gave him a small, tight smile. "I realize you are rated expert, Colonel, but I've seen your scores. Ninety percent from a half mile isn't good enough."

"There is someone on the base who's ninety-eight percent from half a mile."

"Who?" Hammond asked, perplexed.

"Tanner, sir."

"Vin Tanner?"

Jack nodded, prepared to make his case. "Yes, sir. He's the best I've ever seen. He could win the ranger sniper challenge, sir. I've been trying to come up with a way for us to enter it, but haven't found a way so far. I'd love to see those ranger's faces when we took it."

Hammond still looked incredulous, and Jack wasn't sure if he was being swayed. "He's that good?"

"Yes, sir. You know I've been taking him to the range at least twice a week?"

Hammond nodded, listening intently.

"He's broken every base record and is checked out on three different rifles now. He's Olympic level, sir."

Hammond shook his head, "We can't send a civilian on a mission like this."

"I think he'd volunteer if we laid out the situation."

"He's still a civilian."

Jack shrugged pleadingly, not ready to give up. "And he's the best marksman within five hundred miles. We don't have time to call in anyone else. I *think* I can do it, but I *know* he can."

Hammond looked over his shoulder, across the gateroom at Mills, and Jack knew he was finally considering it. "This mission could be one-way. We don't know how this pathogen is transmitted and it's apparently 100% fatal."

"I still think he'd do it, sir, especially knowing the stakes."

Hammond waited a beat or two, then nodded. "Very well. Brief him. Have an alternate plan ready if he doesn't volunteer."

Jack began backing away, ready to hit the stairs again. "Already do, sir. Teal'c and I go through the gate, I take the shot. If I miss the shot, you send a nuke through and I stay to confirm the kill."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Go talk to Tanner. Full disclosure."

"Yes, sir," Jack called, and hit the stairs, almost running this time.

His best bet would be either Tanner and Larabee's quarters, or the Saloon. Mid-day, and a day they weren't scheduled to go topside, so he headed for the Saloon. 

He had to make this quick. Hammond would have already put someone in charge of checking out the specific rifles Jack asked for from the range, and getting them outfitted and supplied. Teal'c was probably already on that. 

He didn't pause at the door, just barreled right in. Larabee, Wilmington and Dunne sat at the table and Standish was on the couch. 

No Tanner in sight.

Chris looked up as the door opened, studying Jack. "Colonel," he said after a moment.

"Where's Vin?"

Larabee studied him for a minute and Jack held eye contact.

"He's probably in our room," Larabee finally said.

Ready to track down Tanner as quickly as possible, Jack paused. He knew exactly how he'd feel if someone came in and snagged Daniel, Carter or Teal'c without going through him, first. Not exactly the same situation, but close enough. He nodded to Chris, "C'mon, you should hear this too."

Larabee didn't argue, just dropped the notepad and pen he'd been holding, nodded to Buck and JD and silently followed Jack. 

Jack glanced at him a couple of times as they hurried through the corridors. The few people in their path stepped back and let them pass without comment. Just another day at the SGC - only it could be the day it all ended, if they didn't stop Linea and this Goa'uld before they got off that planet.

Jack let Larabee open the door and he followed him into the room. Tanner wasn't anywhere to be seen and Jack let out a huge sigh. "We really need to find him," Jack said, meeting Larabee's eyes, trying to let him know just how important it was. 

Surprised Larabee still wasn't asking any questions, Jack looked around the room. Shit, he didn't have time for this. If they couldn't find Tanner soon, he was going to have to go with plan B. Jack went to the desk and snagged the phone. He dialed the base security office.

"This is Colonel O'Neill. Page Vin Tanner to his quarters and check every camera in every corridor for him... No, do not take him into custody if he's spotted. Just escort him to his quarters."

Jack replaced the receiver as the page for Tanner went out over the comm system.

"Want to fill me in?" Larabee asked, as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Let's wait for Vin, okay? I don't have time to go over it twice. I need him for a mission, but the choice is his."

"You need a sharpshooter?"

"Exactly."

"Wouldn't have figured there'd be anything else you'd need him for."

"I'll fill you both in when he gets here, Chris."

"He should be here soon."

"You know where he is?" Jack asked. He didn't get an answer, but he hadn't expected one. He paced around the small room, taking a moment to study the photos on the wall. Mostly of the men's horses, and a shot of JD and Cassandra, with the horses. They'd managed to turn their room into something of a home over the past six weeks.

A crash and a muttered 'dang it' from the bathroom had Jack and Larabee both turning that way.

"Tanner," Jack said as Vin emerged from the bathroom. Jack was sure a full grown man couldn't fit into the ventilation system, but that was the only place Tanner could have come from. He'd ignore that little bit of intel for now.

"Colonel," Vin said, tipping his head. "You're the one looking for me?"

Jack looked from Tanner to Larabee, then back to Tanner after getting a slight nod from Larabee. "Vin, we're short on time right now, so I need you to listen, then ask any questions when I‘m finished."

Tanner nodded and Jack started explaining.

"We have a situation. One of our teams went on an off-world mission and ran into some trouble. Only one made it back. The planet they visited had been attacked with a biological weapon." At the confused look on Tanner's face, Jack hesitated.

"A plague... man-made...," Larabee interjected and Jack nodded.

"Right. Over fifty-thousand people are dead and the people responsible are still on the planet. They're going to spread their plague anywhere they can. We have a chance to stop them."

Tanner looked to Larabee, then to Jack and Jack waited a beat, sure Tanner was listening, before he went on. "The Goa'uld... they have personal shields that we can't penetrate. But they have to activate the shield manually."

"You want to assassinate it," Vin said, catching on quickly.

"We need to eliminate the threat the only way we can."

"And you want me to do it."

Jack nodded. "We only have one chance. You're the best I've ever seen. We have others rated as high or higher than you, on paper. But none are near enough to get here fast enough to stop that Goa'uld and its accomplice from getting through the gate and out into the galaxy."

"This plague can wipe out an entire planet? Everyone?" Tanner asked, eyes narrowed.

Jack nodded. "There's a woman with the Goa'uld... she's done this before. Some cultures call her 'The Destroyer of Worlds.'"

"You had her once?" Larabee asked, crossing his arms.

"We did, but she got away. We're getting off-point, here."

"Who's going?" Tanner asked.

"Just you and me." 

Larabee moved closer to Tanner and Jack decided to explain further. He knew if he could only get Vin to understand the importance, he couldn't keep Tanner from the mission. The problem would be keeping Larabee from the mission, too.

"Vin," Jack said. "We can't bring anyone else because anyone stepping foot on that planet may become infected with the plague. We just don't know."

"Let me get this straight," Tanner said. "You want me to go with you to a planet with a plague, assassinate a woman, then come back here and just hope we don't have it?"

Jack winced. Wasn't much he could say to dispute Tanner's assessment. "No, I'll get the woman. You shoot the Goa'uld. You'll only have one chance at the snake. If I miss Linea, then we'll have to track her down. If we miss the Goa'uld with the first shot, there won't be another chance. They have about a dozen guards with them too."

"If I say no?"

"Then I go, and I take someone else. It's your choice, Vin. I'm only asking you because you're the best chance we have. I wouldn't ask, otherwise."

Vin turned aside, head tilted back as he thought. He turned a sideways glance at him then, and asked, "If they get off the planet, what happens?"

Jack held Vin's eyes with his own. "They spread their plague to who knows how many worlds killing who knows how many people. We don't have enough intel to know what they plan or when... but if they get off that world, there's no way for us to contain them. We do know that Earth is a target. They're hoping it'll spread here."

Vin nodded, looked away again briefly. "Who goes with you if I don't?"

"Teal'c. He'd go for Linea, and I'll be the one who's got the one shot at the Goa'uld."

Vin crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. Vin knew as well as Jack did who the best shot was. "What happens after we kill the demon and the plague lady?"

"Then we hunt down and kill the Jaffa. They carry this plague, and we can't let any of them get off that planet."

Larabee turned his back to Jack, stepping between Vin and O'Neill, blocking Jack's view.

"Vin?" Chris said, loud enough for Jack to hear. "I don't like it."

"Me neither, Chris. But what if she spreads that plague? Then what? I seen whole villages wiped out by disease. It happens fast and once it starts, there ain't no way to stop it."

Jack stepped sideways so he could see Vin's face. "She's slaughtered entire populations before. She'd do it again."

Vin moved around Chris, but as he did, brushed a hand over Chris' forearm. "We got any chance of coming back?"

Jack took a minute to think about it - Tanner deserved the truth, as did Larabee. "I'd like to think I'm important enough around here that they don't send me on suicide missions, so yeah, we’ve got a chance of coming back, if it goes how we plan."

"Or unless the greater good outweighs the risk to you," Chris added, sharp as ever.

"Well... there is that," Jack said after a minute. "Look, Vin, I wouldn't ask you if I thought the mission could be successful using our own personnel. It's not our habit to involve civilians," catching the look on Larabee's face, Jack added, "Daniel's a special case. He has knowledge no one else in the universe has and he volunteered for this project."

"Like me," Vin said, and Jack felt as relieved as Chris looked disturbed. "When do we leave?" Vin asked.

"As soon as possible. Can you be ready in fifteen minutes?"

Tanner looked to Larabee, sharing some communication Jack wasn't privy to, but when Larabee gave a tight nod, Vin turned back to Jack.

"I can be ready," Vin said. "Jist tell me where to meet you and what to wear."

"The Saloon, fifteen minutes and wear the greens. It's cold where we're going, but our gear is being packed now. How much do you weigh?"

"Huh?"

"We've got a lot to carry and I don't want to weigh you down. It's not a good idea to try to carry more than half your body weight." At Vin's confused look, Jack shrugged. "I can ask the doc. The point is, we need to carry as much as we can, but not weigh ourselves down. We've got a lot of ground to cover in very little time."

"He'll keep up," Larabee said, stepping closer to Vin. "Make sure you keep up with him, Jack."

Jack gave Chris a short nod, not having time for more reassurance than that, then turned to face Tanner. "See you in fifteen." 

Jack hurried toward his office, checking off a small list in his head. He could be ready in five minutes, but he was used to rapid deployment. Getting Tanner was easier than he thought it would be. He'd expected Larabee to be more of a road-block, but from everything he read about them and experienced of them, it wasn't surprising, really, that he didn't put up an argument. Jack could tell Chris wanted to be the one to go, but Larabee knew better than any of them just what kind of shooter Tanner was.

Larabee could be a real asset to the Stargate program if they didn't have that little out of time problem with him. Hell, most of them could. Too bad it wasn't an option.

Jack was back at the guys' Saloon in ten minutes, surprised to see Vin already there, talking quietly with the guys. Larabee stood, arms crossed, in the doorway though. Jack gave him and quick nod, which Larabee returned.

"You can come to the gateroom with us, if you want. You can see him off, there," Jack said.

"Appreciate that," Larabee answered quietly.

Damn, Jack hated this part. "Look, Chris. I'd like to be able to tell you that this will be a piece of cake and that there's nothing to worry about."

Larabee didn't look at him, but Jack heard his soft sigh. "I know. Just do your best. Vin will, too." Jack was about to answer, when Chris suddenly straightened stiffly. "Ah, hell. I'll be right back. Gotta get something from our room."

Jack watched as Chris spun away, his face masked with tension. When he turned back to look into the room, he saw Vin edge away from JD and Standish, to approach Buck, who was a little closer to the doorway than the others.

"Bucklin," Vin said when he got there.

"Another one of those ten-to-one odds things, I hear," Buck said, a grin on his face that did nothing to hide his concern.

"Yeah, well, you know how I usually come out of those," Vin answered, his own grin only slightly more convincing.

"Vin... watch yourself on this one," Buck finally said, after a moment of strained silence.

"I intend to. But listen, Buck. If I don't make it back--"

"Don't talk like that," Buck hissed.

Vin shook his head. "Don't have a choice. I gotta say this. If I don't make it back, you're gonna have to look out for Chris."

Jack felt his stomach clench as he watched the conversation unfold. Every time he thought he had these guys pegged, they showed even more facets of themselves. He hadn't figured that Buck would be the caregiver in the group, but as he watched the way Vin and Buck spoke about Chris, it began to make sense.

"Last time was rough, pard. I don't know if I could pull him through, if something happens to you," Buck said, inching closer to Vin to give them a little more privacy. It didn't help much, Jack could still hear them, but at least they had the illusion of privacy. Jack turned sideways to make the illusion more believable.

"Chris'll make it. He'll be ornery, and he'll be hell to be around, but he'll make it. He'll need you to help him, though."

Buck nodded, then clasped Vin's forearm. That lasted just about a second, before Buck yanked the smaller man to him for a tight embrace.

In that split second, it occurred to Jack that he hadn't had that conversation with anyone. His life was as much on the line as Vin's, and yet he wasn't seeking out someone to make sure his loved ones would be cared for if he didn't make it. Who the hell would he go to, and who would he have them look after, anyway? The thought was depressing as hell.

He'd be missed, he knew. He wasn't so self-pitying that he didn't believe that people would grieve for him. But there wasn't a wife or child for him to have to worry about having the type of inconsolable grief that would require extra care and comfort. It was self-indulgent, but he couldn't help but wonder if anyone would even come close to missing him in that way.

Carter? Nah. She was a soldier, she'd get over it. Teal'c? He'd have a tough time with it, he knew, but he had a whole people he was trying to save. He'd get over it, too.

Daniel? Well, yeah, Daniel would grieve hard. As good as Daniel got with automatic weapons, as near as he could pass for military at times, he wasn't. He'd finally come to understand the military mindset, but that was a far cry from having one. Daniel would allow himself to grieve as hard as he felt. He and Jack had had some whopping, ugly disagreements in their day, and they locked horns more times than Jack could count. But underneath it all, there had always been an indestructible bond that reached into Jack, tied itself into a knot, and refused to let go. At times, it was painfully obvious that it was the same for Daniel.

As hard as it had been to lose Daniel to radiation sickness the way he did, Jack had had time to say goodbye; time to at least try to let Daniel know what he'd meant to him. And Daniel had had a chance to say goodbye to him, to say thank you, though Jack still wondered sometimes what the hell Daniel had to thank him for. But if Daniel hadn't had that chance, Jack probably would have had an even harder time when Daniel was gone.

He glanced down at his watch, suddenly wondering how much time he had to make one, last goodbye of his own. Hell, they were due to leave any time now. He'd have to say whatever he had to say right there in the gateroom. He didn't doubt that Daniel would be there.

Chris came around the corner then, striding into the room with long steps. Buck and Vin turned to him, and Chris held out his hand. Vin looked down, surprise on his face, then looked up at Chris with a soft grin.

"Can't believe I was about to go off without that." He reached out and took the small, brown object into his own hand.

Jack cocked his head, trying to remember where he'd seen it before. Ah, that leather pouch thing that Daniel had prattled a bit about when they'd gathered the guys' belongings. Some superstitious Indian thing, he remembered. He watched as Vin put the thin, leather cord around his neck and tucked the little pouch under his shirt, where it could lie against his chest.

Jack figured that leaving without it was probably something like him going off on a mission without his dogtags.

Vin glanced around the room, nodding at each of the guys in turn, then looked to Jack.

"Let's go," Jack said, and nodded his head toward the door.

The walk to the gateroom was brisk, and done in utter silence. Jack led the way, with Tanner and Larabee behind him. SF's cleared a path whenever they met them in the halls, but all nodded at them solemnly, word obviously having gotten out that Colonel O'Neill was going on yet another one of those wacky, fool's missions, and this time taking a civilian, to boot.

When they arrived in the gateroom, the wormhole was engaged, and a MALP was heading up the ramp. Jack's eye caught the two packs sitting at Daniel's feet, with the General a step behind them. Jack was thoroughly surprised when the General picked up one of those packs and stepped up to Vin. 

"You sure about this, son?" Hammond asked as he handed over the pack.

Vin grinned up at him. "Nope. But I'm goin' all the same."

Jack shook his head, then turned to Daniel, who'd lifted the other pack for him. Jack took it from him wordlessly, and slipped his arms into the straps. Once it was secure, he let out a long breath, and looked Daniel in the eye. Now or... well, never.

Daniel looked at him expectantly. Of course, Daniel knew him well enough to know there was something on his mind. Jack dropped his eyes to his shoes, utterly unable to speak. He scuffed a little at the floor, taking a deep breath, then risked a glance at Daniel's face.

"Jack?"

"Yeah. Umm. I was just thinking."

"And?" Daniel prompted, quietly, eyebrows arched up encouragingly.

"If, uh, I don't make it back?"

Daniel nodded silently.

How the hell did Jack say this?

"Um. Check my mail for me?"

Jack winced once the words were out, but hell, it was the best he could do. He really stunk at this kind of thing. He watched as Daniel's eyebrows drew together in confusion, but then a smile broke out on Daniel's face, the dimply kind that came and went quickly, but while it was there, seemed huge.

But after the smile was gone, a sort of soft sadness crossed Daniel's face. "Look out for yourself, Jack."

"Yeah. You too," Jack answered quietly, then scuffed the floor a little more. He glanced back up again, and Daniel nodded.

Okay, so Jack hadn't said it well, but Daniel got his meaning, and that was the important thing.

Jack cleared his throat, left Daniel with a brief pat on his arm, and turned to the weapons laying out for them, waving Vin over. He picked up the 82A1, and handed it to Tanner. "You remember this one, of course."

"Yep. This one's the Barret. Accurate a mile out," Vin said, eyes caressing the automatic rifle as he wrapped the strap for it over his shoulder.

"We'll probably set up half a mile, or maybe three-quarters of a mile from where we plan to start."

Vin nodded, listening, but his eyes still riveted on the rifle.

"All clear, sir," Carter called down from the control room where she'd been monitoring visual from the MALP with Teal'c.

"Colonel, you have a go," Hammond said, then, stepping back.

His own rifle now secured over his shoulder, Jack turned for the base of the ramp, where Tanner waited for him. Larabee had stepped back with Hammond, and Daniel was slowly inching backward as well. It seemed to Jack as though they were all kind of giving them space. Felt as though it meant something, but he wasn't sure what.

Jack shook his head to clear it. He was getting way too deep, there. They had a Goa'uld, a psychopath and some Jaffa to eliminate. He looked at Vin, seeing him check that his radio was secured. "You do know that this time, the radio is non-negotiable, right?"

Vin gave him a sly grin. "You know that vacation planet?" Vin said, and Jack nodded. Vin's grin grew more mischievous, before he went on. "I was never more than a half a mile from either of the camps. Spent most of my time figuring out how to capture all of you."

Jack shook his head, feeling a grin form on his own mouth.

Vin actually chuckled a little bit at that. "I'm ornery, but I ain't stupid. This radio thing can come in awful handy, I'd imagine."

Jack just nodded at him, still smiling. "Let's move out."

Side by side, he and Vin strode up the ramp, toward the event horizon.

*****

Chris thought his heart was going to leap into his throat when he saw Vin disappear through that shimmering blue light in that gate thing. Rationally, he knew that the danger lay on the other side, on the planet, and not with the gate itself, but he hadn't been in a mood to be rational, and he still wasn't.

He'd spent some time in the Saloon, but he hadn't felt much like company. Only Josiah and Buck had dared to attempt conversation with him, and Josiah had given up, risked a pat on his shoulder and joined Nathan in watching some science thing on that television. JD had given him some sympathetic looks, but had turned away as soon as Chris met his eyes. Kid already knew what it was like to lose people, but he hadn't learned much about being around others who'd had those kinds of losses. Chris was glad for that, because while he appreciated that JD had a good heart, he didn't need someone else trying to help him cope.

Eventually, he'd gotten so restless that he couldn't stand being around the others, and had quietly slipped away. He wasn't surprised when Buck ended up right on his heels. He hadn't said much, just offering his presence should Chris need it. 

Chris was grateful. He was feeling kind of an itch beneath his skin, one he couldn't scratch, and he knew that somehow, Buck would find a way to help. Buck was the one presence he could put up with when he couldn't stand to be around the others and couldn't-- like now-- be with Vin.

They'd had a quick drink, had played cards for a bit, and finally had just tried to read a little from a couple of the books Daniel had gotten for them.

Soon, though, the room just felt too small, and Chris got up to pace in the hallway. As expected, Buck came along, leaned against the wall, and watched as Chris about wore down those concrete floors.

Another stride back up the hallway, he nearly collided with Daniel. He backed up, as did Daniel, while sliding his glasses back up his nose.

"Good timing," Daniel said, a smile dying before it even fully formed. Chris recognized the worry and impatience in Daniel's eyes, knew his own probably showed the same thing.

"Have you heard something?" Chris asked, just to be sure, even though Daniel's demeanor didn't speak of someone with news.

"No, I'm sorry," Daniel answered. "But I have something to ask."

Chris couldn't help but be curious. While he supposed he liked Daniel well enough, they didn't exactly have anything in common, and so it was rare for them to have anything to talk about.

"I'm guessing that you two are as awake as I am," Daniel said, looking from him to Buck, and back at him again. "I mean, I know I won't be able to get any sleep tonight, and I'd imagine it'll be just as hard for you guys, especially seeing that it's going on midnight, and you're pacing the halls."

"Right, so what's on your mind?" Chris replied, though somehow feeling the need for caution, realizing that now, with both Jack and Vin off on that planet, they definitely had something in common.

Daniel took a deep breath, and Chris wondered if it was because he had a lot to say, or if he was just going to have a hard time saying it.

"I went to the Saloon, and you weren't there. From what the others said, I figured you weren't enjoying sitting around and just waiting any more than I am."

Chris agreed, but was losing patience. "So what are you getting at?"

"Well, I've gotten clearance from the general to take you two on a short trip, if you're interested."

"You want us to leave, while Vin is still out there?" Buck asked, looking like he thought Daniel had lost his mind.

Daniel sighed hard. "We know that realistically, they're going to be gone at least twenty-four hours. It's only been four hours, and I'm already going nuts."

Chris cocked his head, watching Daniel as he spoke. "So what kind of trip are you talking about? Another planet again?"

Daniel did manage something of a grin this time. "Actually, no. I'm thinking of a drive to a place in Roswell, New Mexico. There's a historical society there, and they have more preserved copies of The Clarion in their archives. I figured we could kill some time by going there and getting more issues of the paper. You must be curious for more news of how the town developed and things that happened there. Aren't you?" Daniel asked, his face showing genuine curiosity.

Chris looked to Buck, who appeared intrigued, but still skeptical. He glanced back at Daniel again, still not sure about this himself. "How long will this take? I don't like the idea of being gone when they get back."

"We can be there in about eight hours, get the copies, and be back here in about eighteen hours from now. That would put us about two hours ahead of the schedule we can expect them to take."

Chris turned away from both of them, considering it.

"Chris," Daniel said, his voice low and yet still carrying an anxious tone. "There isn't a thing we can do while we wait, and I don't like it. I get the feeling it's only going to get worse if we don't find some way to fill the time. If you don't want to go, it's fine. But if you're going to say no, I hope it's for the right reason."

He turned back around, and was surprised at the increased tension on Daniel's face. He remembered Jack saying that Daniel wasn't military, and now he was seeing just what Jack meant by that, and it had nothing to do with understanding of tactics or weapons. It was the oddest time for a revelation, but Chris couldn't help it; he felt as though he had more in common with Daniel than he'd ever thought. He and Daniel were both civilians in this situation, and there wasn't a thing they could do for Vin and Jack, until they were back through that gate.

"But what if they manage to get back earlier than expected?" Chris asked, realizing that Daniel might actually have found a way to make the wait tolerable, if not for that possibility.

"Then someone from the base can contact us, and we'll do everything we can to get back sooner. They'll be in isolation for a while anyway, to be sure they aren't sick," Daniel added, though it looked as though he didn't like having to say it. Chris sure as hell didn't like having to hear it.

He thought about it for just another minute, then turned to Buck who just raised his eyebrows, telling Chris it was his call.

"What about it, Buck? You wanna go with us?"

"How soon do we leave?" Buck asked.

"I just need to call up to the general, and let him know we're going. We can leave any time," Daniel answered.

"Let's do it," Chris said, holding his hand palm-up and giving it a wave, indicating for Daniel to lead the way.

 

The drive down to Roswell was an eye-opener for Chris. He and Buck had been nervous, being in that vehicle and going speeds Chris could never have imagined. Daniel had assured Chris that he was only going as fast as the law permitted, adding that the vehicle was Jack's and that the Colonel would have a fit if Daniel wasn't careful with it. That was only marginally helpful, though. Chris was glad that it was dark when they'd left, and that there weren't a lot of other vehicles out, though. It made it easier to get used to the whole thing. 

Once Buck had begun to relax, he'd made the comment that it was kind of a combination between a train and stage coach. Chris thought about it, and it made sense. But seeing all these other vehicles out in the light of day, Chris was extra grateful that they'd had these observations on the way down, saving Chris from losing his mind on the way back to the base.

The people at the historical society had let Daniel in right away, being impressed with his education and all, and it took them less than an hour to get all the Clarion articles they had and copy them. Once they'd had what they needed, they'd made a quick stop for coffee and food, and were on the road again.

Chris yawned, and began leafing through more of the article copies. Kind of made his stomach a little queasy to be reading while the vehicle was in motion, but he needed to keep his mind busy. The trip down he was occupied with the newness of this type of travel. Now that they were headed back, though, he needed a new distraction. He was tired, but not nearly enough to sleep.

Buck and Daniel were engrossed in conversation, but Chris wasn't in a talking mood. Anyway, the more he looked through the articles, the more absorbed he became. It was much less disturbing to get involved in these articles than the ones focused on themselves that Daniel had already given them, and Chris found himself reading these articles in order to watch the unfolding lives of those they'd known.

He began scanning one particular article about the Pinkertons, but the more he read, the more troubling he found it. Then his eyes caught a familiar name, and Chris' stomach revolted against the coffee and donuts churning inside it. He took deep breaths through his nose to keep the panic under control.

Think, he ordered himself...

Nobody could see this article, Chris knew. If they did, Vin would have a world of trouble to come home to. It would be too easy for the authorities at the SGC to connect Vin to Loch's disappearance. Chris could only imagine the technology they possessed that could help them learn the truth, that Vin had killed him.

It wouldn't matter that Loch had been a monster of the worst kind, preying on wanted young men at his mercy as well as on boys who didn't even have need to shave yet whenever he needed to feel more powerful. The only thing the SGC would care about would be that Vin had taken the law into his own hands, and had tortured and killed another human being.

Chris' mind worked fast. Could Daniel have possibly seen this article? Over the page of the article copy, he stole a look at Daniel as he continued to chat with Buck. There was worry on Daniel's face, there to see under every brief smile and underneath the animation his face took on as he became embroiled in the discussion.

The more Chris watched, the more he became convinced that Daniel's mind was on Jack, and not anything he'd seen in the articles. Chris' mind then raced back to earlier in the morning when they'd been busy copying the carefully wrapped pages of the original articles. Daniel had done little reading while they worked; neither had Chris, or Buck. They'd occasionally read off headlines to each other that caught their eye, but had worked pretty quickly to get in and out of there. Chris was reasonably certain that Daniel didn't know something that he shouldn't.

Now, all Chris had to do was make sure that it stayed that way. 

Taking advantage of a lull in Buck and Daniel's conversation to pass a few pages to Buck, in the small back seat of the vehicle. "Interesting little bit about Cody Porter's boy and what he ended up doing with Cody's ranch," Chris said, putting the Loch article on top of the Porter one, and making sure that Buck saw him signal the pages with his eyes.

Buck looked at him curiously, but didn't let on anything was up. Chris watched as Buck scanned the article, then look up at him. "Huh, that is interesting," Buck said, then slipped the Loch page under the Porter one.

"What?" Daniel asked, sounding curious.

"Cody Porter was a rancher who was murdered not long after we started watching Four Corners. Cody's boy inherited Cody's ranch, and a few years after we were gone, donated it to the church. We hadn't figured the boy to be the charitable type," Chris explained for Buck's benefit as well as Daniel's.

Daniel grinned, and replied, "Well, people surprise you sometimes, I guess."

"That they do," Chris said, and put the pages back into the big envelope.

They were all quiet for a while after that, Chris figuring that despite their worry, fatigue was bound to set in.

"Hey, Daniel?" Buck said some time later.

"Yeah?"

"You know those security people you said were following us, to look after us?" Buck said, sounding puzzled.

"Right. The general didn't think it would be smart for us to be galavanting across state lines without some backup in case we needed it."

"I got no problem with that. I'm just wondering why we'd have different security people on the way back than we had on the way down," Buck said, twisted in his seat to look out the back window.

"Um... We wouldn't have a different security assignment. They'd be the same people," Daniel answered, starting to sound worried. 

"Well, I just don't get it. Why would the little numbers on their auto be different then?" Buck asked.

Daniel reached for the radio sitting next to the big window in front of the steering wheel. "Corporal Jennings? Corporal Jennings, come in..."

No response came out of the radio. Daniel immediately reached into his jacket pocket and drew out that little phone thing he carried. "General Hammond, please. Security code AA4-Jackson-B5." There was a short pause, and then Daniel was speaking again. "General, we may have a problem. I can't get the security detail on the radio, and there's a replacement car following us. License plate is different. Buck noticed it... No, sir. So far, just following us. We're on US 84, about halfway between Roswell and Albuquerque. It's pretty isolated... Yes, sir. I've turned on the radio beacon. You should be able to trace us. I'll check back in twenty minutes, yes."

He turned off the phone, and slipped it back into his pocket.

"We got trouble," Chris said, mostly to himself.

"Open the glove box... that thing right in front of you," Daniel said, pointing to what Chris realized was a storage area built into the vehicle. Chris opened it, and saw the gun Daniel was obviously thinking of getting out of there.

"What do they want?" Chris asked, pulling out the gun and checking to see that it had a clip in it. Chris didn't get out to the range as often as Vin did, but he'd sure as hell gone enough to know how to use this gun.

"Either they want you and Buck, or me, or all three of us. There are some ruthless people out there who would love the chance to experiment with all of us. We've all had some unusual experiences lately that they'll be curious about."

"Wonderful," Chris muttered, looking back at the car following them.

"Um, Chris? I don't know if it's a good idea for you to be the one carrying that, if it comes down to it," Daniel said, looking nervously from the gun in Chris' hands to the mirror that held an image of the stranger's car.

"I'm a better shot, and we both know it. If it comes to it, we're better off with me using it."

Daniel grimaced. "Good point."

"What about me? We got anything for me to use?" Buck asked, squirming nervously in his seat.

Daniel's eyebrows climbed. "Actually, there might be. See if there's a gray, steel case back there."

Chris looked between the two front seats, into the back. "There, Buck, under the seat next to you."

"Yes! That's the spare that Jack carries. He's been taking it to the range for Vin to practice with. There should be clips in the case, along with the gun."

"Now, we're talking," Buck said, getting the gun loaded.

"Guys, can I ask a favor?" Daniel said, holding the wheel a little tighter, Chris noticed.

"What's that?" Buck answered.

"We don't know exactly what they have planned, so if it comes to shooting, can you maybe try to wing them? I mean, can we try to only do what we have to in order to keep ourselves safe, and not any more than that?" Daniel asked.

Chris grinned, he couldn't help himself. Jack had told him before that Daniel had a thing about emphasizing not killing unless it was necessary. Jack had kind of laughed fondly when he'd told Chris that, and now Chris was seeing for himself that it really was oddly amusing, and a bit endearing, he supposed.

He shared that grin with Buck, who answered for the both of them. "Oh, we'll wing 'em, all right."

Daniel looked sideways at him, obviously not convinced by Buck's tone, and Chris grinned wider. "Don't worry, we won't shoot to kill unless we have to," Chris told him, and meaning it. 

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I was hoping to spare you being exposed to vehicles you weren't ready to see yet, but we're going to be hitching a ride the rest of the way with Air Force helicopter. It's coming for us now. Should meet up with us in about forty minutes. Let's hope that if they plan to try something, it's not before then," Daniel said, checking the mirror yet again.

Sure as hell, about twenty minutes later, after Daniel had checked in with the general again, the vehicle started to feel funny. "What the hell is that?" Chris asked, feeling a rhythmic bump as they drove steadily ahead.

"Damnit. We're getting a flat tire," Daniel said, looking at the clock on that dashboard thing, and then in the mirror.

"Did they cause it?" Buck asked.

"Probably," Daniel answered, though he didn't slow down." The tires are inflated with air," he explained. "They probably used something that would slowly leak the air out of one, or more, so that we'd be isolated when it finally went flat."

"Can this thing still move when the tire's flat?" Chris asked, thinking that if they could just buy another twenty minutes, they'd have their backup.

"It would be bad for the truck, but better for us, yes, if I drive carefully," Daniel told him, only sparing a quick look his way. He kept his eyes fixed on the road, mostly, occasionally checking the car behind them.

"Will they wonder why we haven't stopped?" Buck asked.

"Probably," Daniel answered. "Or, they'll think I'm too stupid to realize we're getting a flat."

"Do they know that we know about them?" Buck then asked, wondering as Chris was, what the chances were that they'd be able to hold out that twenty-- now fifteen minutes.

"They'll figure it out soon, if they haven't already. The windows are tinted, so they probably haven't been able to see us looking back at them, but they'll only buy me being stupid about the flat for so long."

"They're getting closer," Buck warned, then.

"I think they're getting ready to make a move," Daniel said, his voice anxious, but not panicking. "If something happens, remember that we'll have backup, soon."

"What's that helicopter thing you mentioned," Buck said, eyes glued on the car behind them.

"Uhhhh, it's a sort of flying vehicle," Daniel finally answered.

"A what?" Buck squawked.

"Hell, Buck, did you think all this time we were just pulling your leg?" Chris said.

"I don't know what to think anymore."

Just then, a pop sounded just under them, and the vehicle began jerking. Chris grabbed on to the dashboard with one hand, but kept a firm grip on the gun in his other hand.

"Hang on!" Daniel yelled, trying to straighten out the vehicle.

Chris saw that Buck had found a hand-hold, too, while managing to keep his gun in his hand.

"We're going to come to a stop up here, I can't help it," Daniel grated as he tried to keep control of the vehicle.

"When we stop, we'll have to get out, but we all need to be on the same side," Chris said over the squealing of the tires.

"I have an idea," Buck hollered, and reached for the sliding window behind his seat. 

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked as the car began slowing into a skid.

"Gonna give them some tire trouble of their own."

The window slid open, and a little wind came gushing in.

"Dammit, they're too close for me to get their tires," Buck growled.

"Aim for that grid thing on the front of the car," Chris told him, "See if you can make 'em flinch."

The pop of gunfire immediately followed Chris' words, and a second later, a big chunk of metal from the car broke upward, blocking the drivers' view, and they went into series of swerves, just as Daniel got their own vehicle to a stop.

"Out this side," Chris yelled, seeing that they were sideways to those other guys, with his door the one blocked from their view. Chris jumped out, Daniel followed, and Buck was out a split second later from the smaller back door. 

Chris popped his head up just enough to see over the back of the vehicle. Four men emerged from the other car, all dressed in suits, as had their security detail.

Buck shot first, getting the nearest guy in the thigh, and Chris shot a second later, getting another one in his gun arm. The other two men, immediately dove for the cover of their open car doors, and began firing back.

"Two down, winged," Chris added, letting Daniel know the situation. 

Daniel had his little phone out, and was giving the code again to get through to Hammond. "Yes, sir, we're under fire. They shot out a tire, and they are trying to advance. Wilmington and Larabee are holding them off. Yes, with guns, sir! No, they're just wounded. It's Jack's truck, general. His personal weapons were locked inside."

Chris only half-listened to Daniel talk. He tried to concentrate on the men shooting at them.

"It's a stand-off, Chris. If we can hold out till the backup gets here, we'll be fine," Buck said, sending off another shot toward the other men.

"We got another estimated eight minutes," Chris said, taking another shot himself.

"Jack's gonna kill me," Daniel groaned as more shots pinged against the vehicle.

"You gotta be alive for that to happen," Buck replied to him, sounding oddly gleeful.

"Oh, no!" Daniel suddenly said, and glanced around at the flat terrain surrounding them.

"What now?" Chris asked, firing again.

"I think they're aiming for the gas tank! If they hit that, the truck'll catch fire, and they'll force us into the open!"

"Fire?" Buck yelled again, his humor possibly beginning to fade.

"And I thought you said there wasn't really such a thing as shootouts anymore, anyway?" Chris grated.

"If there's an exception, I seem to be around for it," Daniel answered, crouching down lower as more shots went off in their direction.

"All right, Chris, we need to end this," Buck said. "We don't have another six to eight minutes if they're gonna get that gas thing any second now."

Chris popped up for another shot, then crouched again. "There's one on each side of the car, and the two on the ground might still be able to get a shot off, too, but their aim won't be good for much."

"The feet," Buck said, grinning again. Chris grinned, too. If they could each get one in the foot, where they were crouched behind the car doors, it would buy enough time for them each get behind a door, and get them pinned.

"Daniel, stay here. Don't get out in the open unless they hit the gas tank and you have to get clear."

Daniel risked a glance at the other car, then looked up at him and nodded. Chris could tell he didn't need the plan explained to him.

"Aright, Buck. You're on the left, I'll take right. Watch the ones who're down."

"On three," Buck answered, edging close to his side of the truck, while Chris moved over to his.

Chris counted, and on three, he and Buck burst from their sides of the vehicle and began firing. He felt a bullet nick his jacket, but he kept aim at the feet barely visible from under the car door, once he'd fired enough bullets a little higher to keep his target's head crouched. 

It happened fast, but when it was done he stood just a few feet away from a screaming man, watching him grab a bloodied shoe. "Buck!" he hollered, glancing from his captive to look over at the other side of the car.

A second later, Buck met his eyes over the top of the car. "Got him," Buck answered, his grin back in place, even if it was a little bit menacing this time.

"I've got these two covered," Daniel yelled, and Chris risked a glance in front of the car. Sure enough, Daniel stood over the two downed men, holding one of their guns on them.

"I thought you was gonna stay put," Buck hollered to Daniel, but keeping his eyes mostly on the man on his side.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure Jack has mentioned that I don't always do what I'm told."

"Boy listens about as well as JD," Buck grumbled.

Chris would've grinned at that, if he didn't have other things on his mind. "Come on," he said to the man looking up at him. "Move it over." He waved toward the other downed men, as did Buck to his own prisoner, and they got all four men herded together.

Weapons collected, the three of them stood silently, waiting for that helicopter to get there. 

"Right on time," Daniel said just after a rumble sounded in the distance. "Don't let it distract you," Daniel warned. "Neither of you have seen one of these this close, if at all, and we can't take the chance that these guys will get a jump on us. So try to just pay attention to them."

It was hard as hell, because the sound got louder and louder, until Chris finally saw it, a big, metal flying bird coming their way. Buck looked pretty wound up about the thing, too, looking at it briefly, but not looking away from the prisoners for too long.

"Holy mother," Buck whispered once the big flying machine was about sixty feet away. Chris could relate. He'd seen those metal birds in the distance, but Daniel was right; seeing it this close was a hell of a difference.

A few seconds later, a group of those Air Force guys came running out of the side of the machine, headed right for them. Once they were close enough, Chris recognized a couple of them from around the base.

"Dr. Jackson," a big dark-haired man said, "We'll take it from here. You and Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Larabee can head back in the chopper. We'll get these men secured and locate your security detail. When you get back, General Hammond will have a formal debriefing with all three of you."

"Thank you, Sergeant. You guys got here just in time."

The sergeant gave him a quick grin. "Looks to me like you guys had this under control already."

Daniel handed over the confiscated weapon to one of the other soldiers, and nodded another thanks to the sergeant anyway. "Oh, will you need the Colonel's weapons, or should we take them back to the base?" Daniel asked.

"Corporal Dennis," The man called to one of the other soldiers. "Get Colonel O'Neill's gun case from his truck. Put the guns in the chopper, and check them in at the mountain armory. You can have the Colonel pick them up there when he's back from his mission," the sergeant added to Daniel.

The corporal brought the gray gun case from the truck, and he and Buck handed over the guns to be put inside it. "Thank you, sir," the corporal said to him when he'd placed his inside.

Chris nodded to the man-- young man, and followed Daniel and Buck toward that flying machine. As he passed Jack's vehicle, he froze. "Wait! Gotta get those articles," he called to Daniel and Buck, who were just ahead of him.

He trotted off to the vehicle, and snatched up the envelope. No way in hell was he letting those pages out of his sight. He caught up quickly, and together they approached the big, metal flying thing.

"Duck," Daniel told them as they got closer. They passed under a loud whir that about blew Chris' jack right off, and if he hadn't been gripping it so tight, the envelope would have flown right out of his hands.

Chris' heart thundered in his chest as he followed Daniel inside the thing. He couldn't believe he was about to get inside a hunk of metal that could fly. If he was being honest, he would admit to himself that it scared the hell out of him. But seeing how calm Daniel was, Chris was not willing to be honest.

Buck looked pretty unsure about the whole thing, too, but he took a seat next to him, which put Chris in the middle, between Buck and Daniel. Daniel showed him the seat buckles, and a second later, they were all strapped in.

"Damn, if this don't beat all!" Buck hollered over the noise. "We're actually gonna ride in the belly of a big metal bird!"

Chris saw a couple of the soldiers grin at them, but Chris didn't mind. He knew a condescending grin from a genuine one.

A second later, they began to rise, and Chris' heart sped up. He really, really hoped the coffee and donuts didn't rebel again. Oddly, that thought had him grinning.

"What?" Daniel asked, obviously catching Chris in the act.

"I was just thinking... hell of a way to keep our minds off things."

Daniel smiled big. "I'm usually good for a decent distraction."

Chris laughed. "I'll have to remember that."

Higher and higher they went, and Buck let out a joyful whoop next to him. "Damn, Chris, look at that! Everything looks so small!"

"Tell me about it," Chris grumbled. While he could appreciate the view-- it really was incredible-- it was still damned disconcerting.

The soldiers seemed pleased by Buck's enthusiasm, though. Even if Buck looked as petrified now and then as Chris felt, he seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

"Hey, boys! Any chance I can learn to steer one of these birds some time?" Buck shouted to a few of the soldiers across from them.

They all laughed, and Chris felt himself grinning again.

"We'll have to take that up with the General, Mr. Wilmington," one of them answered, and then began pointing out a few more things on the landscape below them.

Chris was never so glad to have his feet on the ground as he was when they finally got back to the base. Once out of that big flying thing, there was a car ready to take them back to the mountain. Chris got to drop off the articles in his room, then they had to meet with the General and the others back in the briefing room.

Things worked fast around the SGC, Chris was finding out. During the forty minute ride in the air back to the base, Hammond had already gathered a bunch of information about the attack from those men. Daniel and Hammond both referred to them as N.I.D., but that didn't mean a lot to Chris. There was a lot in this place that didn't mean much to Chris, though, and that bothered him.

"Seems like there's a war right here on our own planet, not just out there with those Goa'uld," Chris said, shifting in his chair at the table.

The General turned from Daniel to him. "It's easy to forget that we're all supposed to be on the same side, here. But unfortunately, there are groups of people here who have self-serving interests aside from our planet's interests against the Goa'uld."

"Do we know what they wanted with us? Which of us they were after?" Chris asked.

Daniel and Hammond shared a quick glance that Chris didn't miss, and he hoped it didn't mean they planned on keeping something from them.

"We believe that they intended to collect all three of you, if they could, with Dr. Jackson being the primary objective."

"What would they want with us?" Buck asked, as puzzled as Chris, obviously.

Daniel sighed. "You guys have had an experience none of us has. You've been sort of frozen in time, and I'm sure they'd love to see if they can learn anything about the technology that accomplished that. Not to mention that human physiology has changed over the years, and there are probably a lot of things to be learned about from that."

"So basically, if they got hold of us, they'd do who-knows-what to us to try to figure these things out?" Buck said, giving a shudder that Chris wholly sympathized with.

"Pretty much," Daniel said with a small shrug. "But they didn't get any of us, and now that we know they're interested, we'll be ready if any of their people try it again."

The General nodded, then added, "We know now that they didn't expect any of you to be armed, and that they expected the security detail to be their biggest obstacle."

"It was a fluke that we happened to take Jack's truck, and that he had off-duty weapons locked inside," Daniel said, looking from him and Buck to the General again.

Hammond shook his head, looking a little tense. "While I'm not pleased that a couple of civilians associated with the SGC were involved in a shootout, I have to say that I'm grateful that you did have the means to protect yourselves."

Hell, Chris was glad, too, but he had other things on his mind. "Will these N.I.D. people get what's coming to them? Will they actually try it again?"

Daniel and Hammond shared another of those looks, and Chris felt his eyes narrowing into a glare. Daniel seemed much more perturbed by it when he noticed than Hammond did, but Hammond didn't quaver under that look. Chris respected that, but he still wanted an answer.

Hammond sighed softly and then spoke. "The problem with this organization is that they have political support and financial support. They're claiming that the agents who did this are rogue, and I just don't know if we'll be able to prove otherwise. It's unlikely they'd risk trying it again, but there just aren't any guarantees."

Chris could understand that. "Sounds like politics is one thing that hasn't changed much over the years."

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case," Hammond answered.

"I'd just like you tell me if there's something else about this N.I.D. that I need to know," Chris said, directing his eyes at the general, but reserving the glare.

"We have had dealings with them in the past that we aren't in a position to divulge, but nothing else that relates to you or your men. You're already aware, now, that they apparently have an interest in seeing if there's anything they can learn from you seven, and now we're all prepared to take the necessary precautions in the future," Hammond replied. "Beyond that, there really is little else we can share with you."

Chris nodded. "You have business that isn't ours, and I get that. But can you tell me that if something does become our business, you'll let me know?"

"Anything comes up that involves you or your men, you'll be informed of it," Hammond assured him.

Chris gave him another short nod, and felt pretty sure that Hammond was telling him the truth. It had taken a while, but Chris finally felt that he and the General had reached something of an understanding-- and a degree of mutual trust.


	25. 25

*****

Chris couldn't have imagined that of all the things he'd come across when they'd gone for Clarion articles, they'd find information about Loch. He had been surprised enough at what he'd learned from those articles before finding that one. Those smudged pages told a hell of a story, the story of the town they'd left behind, and Chris couldn't help but be engrossed-- and in the case of the Loch story, damned shocked.

So now, here he stood, back on the base again, and holding the one article that could maybe get Ezra to shut up already about Vin and Loch. Last thing Vin needed was for Ezra to start making noise about Vin, and get that damned MacKenzie fellow on Vin's back. If Ezra uttered one word that ended up getting Vin locked up, Chris wouldn't have a problem gutting Ezra.

He'd rather it not come to that, though, of course. 

Chris had already had a quiet word with Buck about Ezra's problem with the whole thing, and they'd decided together how to approach Ezra about it. Buck was standing by, literally, watching him from across the room, and was ready to explain some things to Ezra that Chris just couldn't.

Chris gave Buck a subtle nod, and sat across from Ezra at the table. Ezra looked up from the deck he was idly shuffling, and lifted an eyebrow, expectant and yet managing to look sarcastic. Chris cleared his throat before he spoke. "This was one of the things we found from the articles about Four Corners. Mary wrote this a couple years after we were gone. Read it."

He slid the piece of paper across the table, holding Ezra's wary eyes.

Ezra picked it up, then slowly lowered his eyes to look at it. Chris had it pretty much memorized, and so he watched Ezra's expression as he read through it.

 

Gruesome Pinkerton Mystery

Investigators for the Pinkerton Agency have yet again begun to uncover a mystery that has ties to our community right here in Four Corners. The Pinkertons have followed a trail of disappearances and several mutilated bodies from Oklahoma through the New Mexico territory, totaling twenty-two victims thus far. 

All the victims were young men, age thirteen to sixteen, and those found had been brutally beaten, as well as abused in other unspeakable manners. One chilling peculiarity is that all of the bodies discovered bear a strange mark upon the shoulder, vaguely in the shape of two letter L's. Investigators believe the mark is a brand inflicted on the victims before they were killed.

The prime suspect in these inhuman crimes is a bounty hunter named Marvin Leroy Loch. The trail of disappearances and bodies was found to have coincided with Loch's movements in the territories, including a stop in Four Corners. Pinkerton investigators originally became suspicious of Loch's activities when they discovered that an unusually high number of prisoners brought in by the bounty hunter over the past several years had committed suicide before they could be brought to trial.

Unfortunately, investigators lost all trace of Loch outside the town of Eagle Bend, although that is also where the trail of bodies and missing young men ends. That, Pinkteron Investigator Robert Cleves says, is the most telling coincidence thus far. 

Let us hope that this is indeed the end of these vicious acts, and that no more young men will be torn away from their families and so hideously murdered.

 

Ezra's face did pinch as he read the article, and Chris knew he was putting two and two together. He just hoped it was enough to keep Ezra quiet.

He looked up at Chris over the page at last, eyes intense. "I believe, Mr. Larabee, that we are having a fundamental misunderstanding over what exactly is at issue, here."

"What's there to misunderstand? You know Vin. He doesn't do anything that somebody doesn't have coming. He doesn't kill on a whim."

Ezra visibly shuddered. "No, he doesn't kill on whim, which just makes this all the more unimaginable. He took his time to consciously decide to do those things to that man."

Chris' jaw clenched, and he had to force himself to stay seated. A touch on his shoulder surprised him, and he jerked his head up to find Buck there. "I'll take it from here, Chris."

Chris nodded, and scooted back from the table. Buck took his place as Chris edged away-- but he stayed close enough to hear the conversation.

"Ezra, you read that article. You read what it said," Buck whispered.

"I did."

"Now I want you to read what it doesn't say," Buck said.

Ezra shook his head, confused. "I don't understand."

Buck glanced around, then leaned closer. "It says unspeakable things were done to those boys. Instead of just nodding your head at that, I want you to picture those unspeakable things in your head. I had to picture it, when Vin finally told us a little about it, so now it's your turn."

Ezra leaned back, and Chris watched his throat bob when he swallowed. "I don't have any difficulty imagining the horrible things that this man did. What gives me difficulty is knowing what my friend did. And it's not just that... you three made me a party to the savagery that he inflicted on another human being. You made me an accessory to it by including me in hiding the man's body."

Buck nodded and cocked his head, as though he were giving Ezra's words serious thought. Hell, he might have actually been doing just that, but Chris also knew that Buck was completely in his corner on this one. Vin's safety took priority over Ezra being uncomfortable, and it always would.

"You got a point, there, Ezra. And it's a damn shame that you're having a hard time with this," Buck finally said.

Ezra's eyes narrowed. "I sense a 'however' about to come forth from you."

"That's one way to put it. *However*," Buck said, face scrunched meaningfully, "We know what this man did. We know now he did it to at least *twenty-two* boys, and we know he did some of those things to Vin himself. We also know that Vin had to watch, helpless to do a damn thing, while Loch tortured four of those boys."

Buck stopped, looked nervously around the room while he calmed himself. Chris had to take a couple of calming breaths himself, and noticed that even Ezra looked a little green.

"Ezra, Vin finally put a stop to what that man had been doing for years. Might not have been how you or I would have done it, but neither of us had to go through what Vin did. Ain't either of us in a position to judge it. And if you think you're having a hard time picturing what Vin did, I suggest you try picturing what Vin saw that man do to those boys, and see if that helps a bit." 

Chris leaned over the table, looked at Buck first, then Ezra. "He's out there on some strange planet Ezra, risking his neck again for people we don't know, because that's who Vin is. I'm not going to have him come back from that, only to have to go to some cell or go on trial. Do you understand me?"

Ezra craned his neck to look up at him, looking genuinely wounded, which was rare for Ezra. "You underestimate my loyalties, Chris."

Chris hoped that was the case. Before he could say anything, though, Buck held him back with a hand on his arm. He took the hint, and backed off a little.

"Look, Ezra," Buck said, "I know it ain't easy to have seen that. But if you're gonna open your mouth about it to anybody, it better me or Chris. That's all we're saying." Ezra gave Buck a sour look. "Okay, so maybe you're better off talking to me about it."

Good idea, Chris thought. He was pretty sure nothing good would come of it if Ezra brought it up with him again. "Come to think of it, maybe you two should talk about this without me here at all," Chris said.

Chris knew without a doubt that if Buck thought Ezra might even think about saying something to an outsider, Buck would let him know. And as much as Chris didn't want to think about it, he knew that Ezra wasn't wrong to feel kind of conflicted about what he'd seen. Chris could admit to himself that if it had been anyone but Vin, even he would have a tough time with seeing that kind of retribution on a man. But it *was* Vin, and Chris' only concern now was to see it that nobody, not even one of their own, made trouble for Vin over it.

With a quick nod to Ezra, and a more meaningful one to Buck, Chris slowly moved away from the table, and sat down on one of the couches at the other end of the room. Maybe all Ezra needed was to get some of that stuff off his chest about the whole thing. With a smothered growl, Chris pushed up from the couch, and headed for his room. He didn't want to be in the same room with Ezra at the moment, and he suspected it was mutual. Not that Chris cared.

Chris swung the door open to his and Vin's room, and flopped onto the bed. He wondered just how far he could trust Ezra's word that he'd keep all this between just them. Ezra was good at the occasional veiled threat, using it to niggle when he wanted something, but Chris had not thought that Ezra would consciously turn on one of them. Hell, maybe taking it so hard to Ezra was just another one of those things to keep his mind off of Vin.

If he wasn't all churned up inside, worrying about Vin, he might not have been so hard on Ezra. He might've just asked Buck to go talk to him and get him settled. Chris just hoped now that he didn't make things worse by handling Ezra the way he did. Chris snorted softly to himself at that thought. One minute he was ready to strangle the man, the next minute he was worried that he'd been too tough on him. Sure sign that they needed some space from each other, Chris thought.

A soft rap on the door had Chris up and off the bed in a split second. He opened the door, and Buck slipped in.

They had a seat at the small table against the wall, and Buck let out a long, relieved sigh. "Well, I think we can be pretty sure Ezra'll keep his mouth shut."

"Good," Chris said, and poured them both a drink.

"I also told him it'd be best not to bring it up with Vin once he's back," Buck added, then downed his shot.

"Vin won't take it too well if he realizes Loch got a hold of lot more people in between the time Vin first and last saw him," Chris said, staring into his glass.

"Chris," Buck said, quietly, then waited for him to look up. "He'll make it back. Hell, he's too stubborn not to."

Chris grinned, as much as he was able at this point. "You got that right.”

*****

He was going to have to move soon, his arms and legs were falling asleep; he’d be useless on watch if he couldn’t move when he needed to. Only problem was, if he moved, he’d move Vin, too. And Tanner needed his sleep. Jack needed his sleep too, but he’d get his turn later. He risked shifting just a tiny bit but froze when Tanner let out a low moan. Hell, it looked like if he wanted to move, Vin would have to wake up.

Bright idea, there, O’Neill, he mocked. Inviting Tanner to sleep in your arms. Thirty wasn’t *that* cold. Under the shared thermal blanket and sharing body heat, it was easy to say thirty wasn’t cold. Before they’d pooled resources, while they were propped against separate trees, thirty was damn uncomfortable. 

Jack raised his head, startled by a noise off in the distance. He swept the area, his night vision goggles giving him a clear-as-day picture of the pitch black forest. Nothing on the thermal sensors, either. He risked moving again, hitching their blanket higher. It wouldn’t do any good to be covered in a heat masking blanket if it dropped and their body heat showed up as a big honking blip on those Jaffas’ thermal sensors. If they even had them-- which he wasn’t sure about, but why take chances.

Okay, he was going to have to keep himself occupied if he was going to keep watch for three more hours. Technically, he only had two hours left on his watch, but he’d take the extra hour and let Tanner sleep. While Vin hadn’t lost all that much blood, the broken leg must be damned painful. Morphine kept him on his feet and holding his own weight on a clearly and obviously broken leg. Morphine and grit, that’s what Tanner was running on. Something Jack had a little experience with himself.

He risked moving again; hopefully if Tanner woke, the morphine in his system would keep him from waking completely. He snaked his right arm from under the blanket and reached for his canteen.

Halfway through taking a drink, Tanner shifted. Another moment and a breathy, “Chris?” floated up to him.

“Shhh,” Jack said, rubbing Tanner’s arm. “It’s Jack. Relax.” A few light rubs and Jack took the opportunity to shift his legs. He went still again just as Tanner came more fully awake.

“Chris?” again. Groggy.

“Nope, still Jack. Go back to sleep. You have a couple more hours and you need it.”

Tanner shifted, getting comfortable again and drifted back to sleep almost immediately. Jack took advantage of the few moments Tanner was half awake to lift his night vision goggles from his face. He needed a few minutes to reorient his normal vision. He glanced down to the top of Vin’s head, covered in a bandana to hold back his, at times, wild hair. 

It hit Jack hard at that moment, a feeling he hadn’t felt in ages. Shit, he wasn’t old enough to be Tanner’s father! Okay, if he was honest with himself, he really was old enough to be Tanner’s father. If he had a son… still had a son… he’d want him to grow up to be a man like Tanner. And if he was being honest… and this seemed to be a time for it… a man like him.

Tanner shifted again and Jack did his best to soothe him. He wasn’t good at this kind of thing, but Tanner was easy. He didn’t say anything when Jack did his awkward best. But if Tanner wasn’t under a cloud of morphine, Jack didn’t doubt either one of them would be in this position.

Tanner jerked again, a muffled, shouted, “Chris!” slipping free.

A dream, Jack knew. Not much he could do about that. He flipped his night goggles back down over his eyes, and then shifted one last time, ready to start sweeps of the area again. Tanner did such a good job of covering their trail, even with the broken leg, that Jack wasn’t expecting the last of the Jaffa to find them this night.

But the Jaffa wouldn’t have to sleep. And they did. Thirty-six hours into their mission, if they didn’t get some sleep, they’d be completely ineffective in completing the rest of the mission.

It'd started rough, and hadn't gotten easier. Jack thought back, though, wondering if he could pinpoint the exact time it occurred to him that it might come to the worst-case scenario they'd considered.

Once they’d stepped through the gate, they were on the move, a steady, quick pace taking them to where they were to set up quickly and efficiently. Jack led them with Tanner following a step behind, letting Jack set the pace and course. Tanner had no trouble keeping up - another reason Jack set the pace -- he wasn’t sure he could keep up with Tanner and that kind of irked him, at least just a little bit.

Three hours of jogging and he wondered how the hell Mills had made it in under two hours. Competitive marathoner - that’s right. No wonder they sent her to the gate. They had to be getting close. Jack called a halt and Tanner paced in small circles, regulating his breathing as Jack scanned the area.

“Anything?” Tanner asked.

Jack didn’t have enough air to hold a conversation, just held out his binoculars - the ones he was going to give to Tanner if they got off this planet alive. The look on Tanner’s face the first time he looked through the modern ‘spyglass’ was priceless. 

They hadn't had time for priceless, though. Nope, priceless was for another time; a time when they weren't about to face down a batallion of Jaffa, a time when worst-case scenarios weren't on their minds.

Jack let his mind take a break from the early hours of the mission, and instead let it wander to his first time out with Vin. As the memories surfaced, Jack held in the chuckle that would travel from his chest to Vin’s, jostling him and probably waking him again. 

He’d kept his word and took Tanner to see his horse. Two days back from vacation and he took Vin topside for the first time. Only he didn’t think enough about the timing of their trip. Early afternoon and once they were off the base, traffic was a bitch. First semi to pass them and Tanner dove forward in his seat, only the seatbelt keeping him on the seat and not on the floor.

“Just a truck,” Jack told him. “C’mon, look out and I’ll show you something.”

Vin peered at him, still ducking down, but at least he didn’t have his arms wrapped around his head any more.

“See those lines?” Jack asked, nodding toward the lane markers.

Vin looked out the window, then back to Jack and nodded.

“The roads are divided into lanes and those lines mark the lanes. When big trucks pass us, they won’t hit us - they have their lane and we have ours.”

“Them bitty lines ain’t gonna stop ‘em if they get it in their heads to come over here.”

“No, but they mark where you’re supposed to be.”

“Ain’t much comfort,” Vin said, finally relaxing back against his seat.

Jack didn’t admit Tanner had a point. He didn’t mention accidents, either. Maybe he should have brought Daniel along. Only, Daniel was still obsessed with the thing they stole from Baal and he didn’t want to go anywhere. 

Sam helped when she could, but they were no closer to figuring out that thing than they were when they found it. Jack glanced back over to Tanner a few minutes later to see why he’d gone so quiet. Jack followed Tanner’s gaze and saw a view he took for granted. Driving down I25 for the first time was a unique experience. The interstate straddled the continental divide. The Rockies rose to the west and to the east, the landscape stretched flat to the curve of the earth - all the way to the Great Plains and the Mississippi.

“You ever been around here before?” Jack asked.

“Not this area, no,” Vin said, not taking his eyes off the scenery. 

At least Jack’s truck was high enough off the ground; Tanner could get a look around. And except for the semis, they were as high as or higher than the other vehicles.

Jack drove in silence, pulling off the interstate and onto the state road that led out to Hammond’s small ranch. The first sign of the subdivision had Tanner craning his neck to see the houses. It had to be overwhelming to him, but Jack let him take everything in without a comment.

Finally, they pulled onto Hammond’s road and Jack said, “Just about there.”

“Thought you said we were going to a ranch?”

Jack risked taking his eyes off the road and glanced at Vin. “We are.”

“The houses are close together. Don’t see how there can be a ranch near here.”

Jack looked around, forcing his view to be a little more critical than normal. The houses sat on ten to twenty acre plots, set back from the road and pretty distant from each other. At least they seemed so to Jack, who lived in a subdivision where the houses sat on one quarter to half acre lots.

“He’s got room for all of our horses?” Vin asked.

“Sure, he’s got about fifteen acres or so.”

“Not much space for seven horses.”

“Ten, actually. Your seven, the two belonging to the guys who were chasing you and the General keeps a small horse for his grandchildren.”

Vin didn’t say anything else and Jack turned into the general’s driveway. They were expected and he drove straight to the barn. Mrs. Hammond wasn’t privy to what went on at the base and Jack wasn’t sure if introducing Vin to her would be the smartest idea in the world. 

Jack led Vin to the barn and the pasture, then stepped back and let Vin do whatever he wanted. Hell, he didn’t know shit about horses. He didn’t especially want to get too close to them.

Over an hour later, Tanner had inspected each horse, jumping up on a few of them and riding them around the paddock. He didn’t bother with saddling them, just grabbed a fistful off mane and jumped on.

Jack stood around with nothing to do but watch Tanner put the horses through their paces. And that’s when he got his second bright idea. Instead of trying to take Tanner back to the base during the middle of rush hour traffic, he’d take him back to his place to spend the night. They could cook something up and Tanner could get a jump start on being eased into living in the twenty-first century. 

As Tanner jumped off a big gray mare, Jack motioned him over. 

“Time to go so soon?”

“Change in plans, if you don’t mind. This time of day, the roads are going to be bad. Trucks everywhere… traffic… trust me, you don’t want to be out in it. I don’t want to be in it and I do it all the time.”

“We gonna camp out?”

“Uhm… no. We’ll spend the night at my place and head back in first thing in the morning.”

“Chris’ll worry.”

“We’ll call him. On the phone.”

“All right then. To be truthful, I weren’t looking forward to getting back in your coach and out onto them highways. Things move a mite faster than I’m used to.”

“Do you want to stop somewhere to eat or do you want to try my cooking?”

“I don’t have any means to pay my way, so’s if you don’t mind cooking, I reckon that would be best.”

“Don’t worry about it… the money, I mean. We’ll go to my favorite place - it’s not far.”

“I don’t reckon I’m dressed nice enough for a restaurant, colonel.”

“You’re dressed fine.” Jack studied Tanner for a minute and made another executive decision. “Change in plans… we’ll order pizza. I bet you never had pizza before.”

“Can’t says I’ve had. I’ll eat just about anything though… or that’s what I’m told,” Tanner said as he grinned.

Jack couldn’t help grinning back, Tanner just had one of those infectious smiles. It was good to see him smiling again. MacKenzie was wrong, as far as Jack could tell. As long as Tanner had some freedom of movement, he wouldn’t be hard pressed to adapt. Jack could see that much without a degree in psychology.

Jack took the back roads to his own neighborhood and enjoyed the silence, only breaking it to point out things of interest. Ten minutes from home and he pulled out his cell phone. “Anything you won’t eat?” Jack asked.

“Lots of things I won’t eat, but I’m guessin none of ‘em are offered up on pizza.”

Jack quirked a small grin at that- he’d explained about pizza earlier. “You like peppers?”

“Ain’t had ‘em in awhile, but so long’s they’re not too hot, I like ‘em well enough.”

Jack ordered them a pizza with everything but anchovies and flipped his phone shut. They’d be there soon and he was looking forward to getting home. He didn’t spend enough time there lately. 

“Can I call Chris now?” Tanner asked.

“Sure,” Jack said, flipping the phone open again and dialing for Vin. He handed the phone over, biting back his instructions. Tanner knew how to use a phone and Jack knew telling a man how to do something over and over again was a little too close to treating him like an idiot. “I called Daniel’s office. Daniel said Chris would be there using his library for most of the day.” Jack risked taking his eyes off the road for a second to look at Tanner. Satisfied he could handle it, Jack went back to watching the road.

“Dr. Jackson? It’s Vin Tanner… yes I’m with Jack. He’s sittin right next to me, but he’s busy.”

A few seconds of silence and Jack caught Tanner nodding.

“Sorry… forgot you cain’t see me. Can I talk to Chris?”

A few more seconds of silence and Jack risked another glance. Tanner sat with his head bowed, concentrating on the phone. 

“Chris.”

So much emotion in that one word, it almost hurt Jack to hear it.

“I’m going to spend the night in town.”

Jack listened to Tanner explain about traffic and trucks for a few minutes while he drove down his street. They’d be there in another minute and Jack really needed to take a piss. He pulled into his driveway and put the truck in park, then turned it off. 

“Hey, Chris. Looks like we’re here. Tell Buck his horse is getting fat and tell JD his is going wild. Yup… nope… he’s fine. Peso’s got a burr about being ridden though. Him and JD’s mount need to be ridden or they’re going to be hell we ever need em. Damn good thing we’re the best riders, ain’t it.”

Tanner started laughing and Jack hid his own grin. It wasn’t like Tanner didn’t know Jack could hear every word, but to be polite, he could pretend he didn’t.

A sharp pain in his back brought Jack back to the present and he shifted again, this time waking Tanner completely.

“Chris?” Tanner asked.

“Sorry to disappoint, kid.”

Tanner went silent for a second before blowing out a light sigh. “Reckon they’re getting worried?”

“Probably,” Jack said softly. “If you can, try to get some more sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow and two more Jaffa to track down.”

“We’re overdue.”

“I know.”

“How long we gonna hunt ‘em?”

Jack almost answered with a flippant ‘until we find them’ but he figured out what Tanner was really asking. “How bad’s that leg hurting?”

“Strapping’s helping some and I’ll keep going until I cain’t.” Tanner said softly. “Reckon no matter how much I want to keep going, this broken leg’s gonna give at some point. I can handle the hurt, but it probably won‘t support my weight another full day.”

“Go back to sleep and think up a plan. I’ll wake you up in another hour. I’ll work on a plan too. Maybe we can get them to come to us.”

“Hmph,” Tanner snorted. “Sure worked well last time!”

“That was your plan, not mine,” Jack said as he gave Tanner a light cuff upside the head. He waited for Vin to stop laughing before he opened his mouth again. “You did good, Vin. I’d want you along on a mission any day. Some of the kids they give us…” Jack shook his head.

“Just outta short pants, huh?”

It was Jack’s turn to laugh. “Good way to put it. I don’t think I was ever that young.”

“Me neither,” Vin whispered as his body went lax, falling back asleep.

Jack sighed, thinking about Tanner. He probably never was as young as the recruits Jack was expected to train. At twenty-eight, Tanner had the experience and guts of a seasoned vet. Probably had them at twenty as well.

He was not going to go into his ‘kids today’ rant. Especially with no one around to hear it. If Larabee had a ‘kids today’ rant, would he be ranting about Jack? The idea held some humor. 

The night Tanner spent at his house had been an eye opener for Jack, so many little things that he took for granted were the very things that shook up Tanner in ways Jack hadn't expected. He finally understood what Daniel was getting at about these guys not being ready for the world, or at least he thought he did. Spending one night with Tanner had him rethinking his thinking… or something like that.

But he liked the guy, even when the hard edges showed through. He spent the next six weeks taking him to the range every chance he got. And not just for Vin, either. Jack liked target practice. He liked spending time on the range and he liked spending time with Tanner. It was a simple thing, going to the range, checking out rifles, testing themselves against each other and testing their own skills.

When Dunne started coming with them, Tanner was the one to suggest training with the marines. He’d seen them setting off on runs, had seen the obstacle courses that were part of their PT and he actually looked his age for once. Or even younger. The smile that lit up his face had Jack thinking about his son… remembered a smile so bright, the memory almost brought tears to his eyes.

Tanner and Dunne started working out with the troops and Jack watched them, encouraged them, picked on them on days they were slow. ‘Drinking with the old folks last night?’ he’d call out when they came back from a run looking like they were going to puke. 

Dunne soon got tired of target practice; it wasn’t in his nature to sit still for hours at a time, setting up a shot or disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling complicated machinery-- only to use them again and start over.

Instead, Dunne started going over to the general’s to help Cassie with the horses and to ride them enough to keep them saddle ready. It was working out well for everyone and Jack began to believe these guys could really have a life.

Tanner jerked against him again and Jack tightened his grip on him.

“Shit,” Tanner moaned out a moment later.

“Bad dreams?” Jack asked softly. “Or is it the leg? Do you want more morphine?”

“Yes and no. Yes bad dreams and no sleeping potions. That’s what’s givin me the unsettling dreams.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Jack asked… not entirely sure why he was even asking.

“Chris took a bullet a few years back… I should have killed the one that done it but I didn’t. Chris nearly bled out right in front of me.” Tanner let out a sigh and shifted, hissing when his leg bumped Jack’s. “Ain’t dreamed about that in a long while.”

“He’s pretty important to you, huh?”

Tanner stiffened and Jack tensed too, wondering if he‘d stepped onto verbal territory he shouldn‘t have. He wasn’t so good at guessing what was okay to voice out loud and what wasn’t.

“He’s everything to me,” Tanner finally said quietly, his voice tight and strained.

“I know, kid. I know.” Wasn’t much else Jack could say, so he settled for what he hoped was a friendly, comforting squeeze.

Vin went quiet for a minute, seeming to settle in again, but then pulled off the blanket and tried to stand. He made it to his feet pretty gracefully for a man with a broken leg.

“Where are you headed?”?  
“Call of nature.”

Jack shook his head and reached for a jar. He extended it to Tanner, and stared at him. 

“I been hiding from hunters afore your grand pappy was born. I know how to hide my piss.”

Jack didn’t answer, just held out the jar until Tanner took it, turned away from him and did his business. “I have a plan for tomorrow,” Jack said after he stowed their makeshift latrine.

Tanner slumped to the ground awkwardly, landing hard on one hip and hissing in pain. 

That decided it. “You’re going up a tree, I’ll lay a clear trail and ambush them when they come too close.”

Tanner went quiet, thinking, Jack knew and Jack didn’t bother readying an argument should Tanner try to give him one. He'd made his decision. 

“You gonna leave me one of the handguns while I’m playing cat?”

“Of course.”

“I reckon getting me to high ground might be for the best. I ain‘t much use to you.”

"You did what I brought you here to do. It's my job to get us home."

"So I weren't supposed to help you kill the rest of them warriors? Shoot, I shoulda climbed a tree a coupl'a days ago. Woulda saved myself some grief."

"Funny. Funny. You know, kid, your sense of humor? Not very good."

"Chris thinks I'm funny. JD does too"

"From what I've seen of those two, that's not exactly a ringing endorsement."

Tanner shivered and Jack raised the blanket, and an eyebrow, in invitation. 

Vin crawled over and joined him under the blanket, shuddering hard against Jack. Neither one of them carried around any extra padding on their frames and the cold from Vin hit Jack immediately.

"Jeeze, Tanner, you're an icicle. You weren't even out there for ten minutes." Jack got a tight grip on his gun with one arm and wrapped the other around Vin, pulling him closer and tucking the blanket around them even tighter. "Go back to sleep. You're playing Tarzan in a couple of hours."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Vin?"

"Yeah?"

"If you need more morphine to cut the pain, don't be an idiot. Take it. You don't move, I don't move. Got it?"

"Yes sir, colonel, sir," Tanner said in a dead imitation of the marines he'd taken to working out with.

"Go to sleep before I knock you out."

Jack felt the rumbling in Tanner's chest before he heard the soft laughter. "Hell, at least ya ain't threatening to shoot me like Chris does."

"I might give him the gun next time if you're not careful. Now go to sleep."

More soft laughter from Tanner turned into easy breathing and Jack settled in to keep watch. With any luck, they'd be off this planet sometime tomorrow.

******

Jack stopped moving and listened... rustling in the distance, somewhere to his left and slightly in front of him. He went on the move again, more cautiously this time. There were two Jaffa out there hunting him and he was determined to be the one still standing when it was over.

He glanced behind him and into the forrest. He'd helped Vin up a tree somewhere about a mile back and then backtracked their trail, almost to where they'd lost the Jaffa the day before. He set a new trail, one that hopefully, would lead the Jaffa right to him and not to the injured Tanner.

He was sick of playing games with these guys - it was time he went on the offensive. He circled again, listening every few yards. There! Sure it was something man-sized making the faint noise, he headed into what he hoped wasn't an ambush.

Circling around again, he realized pretty quickly that he and the Jaffa he trailed were headed right to the area he'd left Vin. He hoped one Jaffa followed the false trail, at least. Getting sandwiched between the two of them wasn't any part of his game plan. He trailed to his left, widening his circle... if that Jaffa was following either of the trails, Jack knew just where he'd be.

Long minutes of stalking his prey tuned him into the warrior's every move. Sudden quiet and he hunkered down in some brush, thankful the greens made him blend in. He and Vin had put on their 'war paint', as Tanner called it, before they set out in the pre-dawn hour. 

Tanner could sit still for hours, Jack knew. Up that tree, with nowhere to go, he'd have to. Jack listened closely again, the tingling along the back of his neck a sure sign something was up. He had good instincts, honed from long years of just this type of mission. 

A noise and Jack made sure his breathing was soft and even. He scanned the area, looking for anything out of place. Anything at all.

There it was again, that soft rustling of a large man or animal moving stealthily through undergrowth and he moved from behind his cover to get closer. Through the trees, metal glinted in the sun. Jaffa, he knew immediately. The warrior was still, studying the surrounding area and Jack froze. He recognized his surroundings - Tanner was up the tree just behind the Jaffa. Shit - he didn't think they'd gone quite that far back the true trail.

Jack pulled out his field-glasses, slowly, and what he hoped was silently and took a better look. Hell, the guy was huge, bigger than Teal'c even and he stood stock still. Listening, scenting the air every few moments. Why the hell didn't Tanner just shoot the guy! 

He was going to have to make a move. The Jaffa would spot the faint marks on the tree he'd pushed Vin into. It might take him awhile, but eventually it would happen. Or the wind would shift or Tanner would make a movement imperceptible to humans but loud and clear to a Jaffa.

Jack shifted his weight, ready to sight, aim and pull the trigger in one motion. Just as he moved his hand, a war-whoop pierced the air and Tanner flew out of the tree.

Tanner landed on the Jaffa's back, gripped his forehead and pulled his head back with his left hand, exposing the warrior's throat. In the blink of an eye, Tanner cut the Jaffa's neck so deep, Jack could see bone. The two of them tumbled backward in a heap, blood spraying everywhere.

Jack went on the move quickly, covering the distance to where they'd fallen in seconds. Tanner lay pinned under the Jaffa's dead weight, struggling to get the body off himself.

"Dammit, Daniel! So much for not engaging at close range!" Jack snapped. He reached down and cleared the body off Tanner, hauling him to his feet by his upper arm. He realized his mistake immediately - he was just used to saying 'Daniel' after 'Dammit.'

A sharp intake of air from Vin and Jack loosened his grip. "Let's get out of here and find the other one before he finds us," Jack said, the rush of adrenaline keeping him snapping just a little. "Why didn't you shoot him?" he asked as he took a good look at the blood-soaked Tanner.

"Gun jammed," Tanner squeezed out through clenched jaws. 

Jack finished examining Tanner, stopping to look a little closer at his right leg.

"Shit, Vin. The bone's broken through the skin. You're bleeding."

"I know."

His tone a little more neutral, Jack ordered, "Come on," and headed into the brush. Just a few steps and he noticed Vin wasn't following. "Can you make it to these rocks," he pointed, "so I can take a better look behind some cover instead of out here in the open?"

Vin shook his head and Jack wracked his brain for a way to get both of them out of there, quickly.

"Colonel, behind you," Tanner yelled-- just in time for Jack to get his head out of the path of the staff weapon blast. Jack didn't think, just used his momentum to get to Tanner's side, hunch down and sweep him up in a fireman's carry. Kid only weighed a buck sixty, but running with him draped over his shoulders wasn't going to be easy.

"Hold on!" Jack yelled as he tried to get them away from the staff wielding Jaffa.

Tanner panting in his ear, trying to get out words and Jack ignored him, more worried about getting them to cover than whatever Vin was trying to share. Staff weapon blasts all around him and Jack ground his teeth against the pain in his back and knee. If he didn't keep moving, they were both dead.

"Let go!" finally broke through his concentration and he loosened his grip on his P90. He tightened the one-handed hold he had on Tanner's lower body and threw his now free right hand out for balance as Tanner's shifting weight nearly cost him his footing.

"Hold still," Jack gritted out and tried to keep them moving-- tried to make sure they weren't an easy target. 

Gunfire so close it might as well have been him shooting and he knew what all the squirming and positioning that had nearly cost him his balance was all about. He slowed, letting Tanner sight and aim before shooting. They were nearly to a stand of boulders that would give them better cover than the trees he wound around.

"Got him!" Vin shouted just as Jack lost his footing, dumping both of them at the base of the boulders. 

Tanner landed face down, a tight cry of pain escaping his pursed lips. Jack scrambled to his knees, heart hammering in his throat, and pulled Tanner behind the boulders with him. Once he had his breath back, he turned to Vin to give a him quick once over before he went to make sure that warrior was down for good.

Tanner lay curled in a ball, clutching his injured leg, rocking, trying to get a handle on the pain. Jack gave a light pat to his shoulder. "Be right back," he said. "Hold on."

He approached the Jaffa cautiously, kicking his staff weapon away as soon as he was close enough. He didn't touch the body, just clenched his jaw and pumped a round into his head, right between the lifeless eyes staring up at him. Looking down at himself, he realized it sure as hell didn't matter if he had touched the body-- he was covered in the other Jaffa's blood. 

He pushed down the dread at that realization, instead turned and called out to Vin, "Just hold on a few more minutes, I need to grab my pack." He didn't get an answer.

He was back in only a few minutes, he got lucky and found his pack pretty quick. Tanner lay curled in a ball, still gripping his leg just below the knee. He rocked back and forth, nearly jumping out of his skin when Jack laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy," Jack said. "I'm going to give you a shot. No argument. It's over and we have to get back." He left unsaid exactly why he was in a hurry to get back - blood all over the both of them - it didn't look good. Exposure was a damned near certainty.

Tanner nodded and Jack stuck the pre-loaded syringe of morphine into the big muscles of Tanner's thigh. It took a few minutes before Vin uncurled from the fetal position. Jack held out a canteen and waited for Vin to take it. He drank greedily, water dripping down his scruffy chin as he panted through the pain while guzzling. When Tanner finished, Jack handed him a wrapped packet.

"What's this?" Vin asked, suspicion clouding his eyes as much as the physical agony did.

"Disinfectant. Get as much of that blood off of you as you can," Jack said as he started to do the same.

Long minutes later and Vin finally pulled himself upright, sitting with both legs stretched in front of him. Jack didn't look at the break in that leg again, he didn't want to know if any of the blood around the wound belonged to the Jaffa. Only thing he could worry about right now was getting them home. The rest was going to have to wait.

"How far from the gate are we, do you think?" Tanner asked softly.

"A good ten miles," Jack answered after thinking about it.

"You might as well go without me."

"Right," Jack snorted. 

"I ain't gonna make it that far."

There was a resignation in Vin's voice that Jack wasn't ready to deal with. He wasn't good at that stuff on a good day, and this was assuredly not one of those. "Not on foot, you're not," Jack said after a moment. "There's a farm about two clicks that way," Jack pointed. "I'll find something there."

"I'll be here," Tanner said, laying back down and draping his arm over his face. "Reckon we got 'em all. I'll be fine here."

Kid had to be hurting pretty bad, Jack knew, but there sure as hell wasn't anything he could do about it while they were on this planet. By the look of that leg, nothing short of surgery was going to kill the pain. He was afraid to even touch it... afraid he'd do more damage if he tried anything. Blood oozed out, and as long as it wasn't pouring from the wound, a tourniquet would do more harm than good.

"Be back as soon as I can," Jack said as he climbed to his feet, steeling himself to keep going, to do what he had to do. He wasn't ready to give up just yet. Giving up was always a bad plan. Hell, he just hoped he found something that ran off a combustible engine, not hay. He could use a break to make that whole 'not giving up' thing a little easier.

 

*****

Chris checked the clock readout on the wall, again. Forty-two hours and still counting. He'd taken to haunting the Gateroom observation room after the thirty hour mark ticked by. General Hammond gave him access and he used it every chance he could. He tried to stay out of the way, tried not to interfere. 

Only Buck had the guts to tell him he wasn't accomplishing anything, but even Buck'd given up after a few hours. Daniel haunted the room too and the two of them read silently, chairs pulled off to the side and out of the way.

Once in awhile, he'd ask Daniel a question about the text he was reading, but for the most part, they sat silently.

"They're right, you know," Daniel said softly and Chris closed his book.

Daniel raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Our sitting here is pointless."

"By my reckoning, that ship should be there soon."

Daniel just shrugged and Chris went back to reading his book. 

A few minutes later and he looked up to find Daniel staring at him. He stared back until Daniel went back to reading his own book.

"They're fine," Chris said. They have to be, he didn't say.

"Are you hungry?" Daniel asked, some time later.

"No."

"We could go up to my office where it's more comfortable," Daniel said, his voice low.

"Suit yourself."

He lost track of time, reading about World War II, until Daniel's hand on his shoulder had him looking up to meet Daniel's eyes.

"Coffee?"

"Black," Chris said, eyes going back to his book.

He was aware of Daniel leaving the room, turning his attention back to his book as soon as he heard the doors close behind Daniel.

Daniel returned with coffee and Chris took it from him without a word. Forty-four hours and he knew they'd get word soon. People called the Tok'ra sent a ship to the planet, it should have a report right about the fifty-hour mark. He could make it another six hours.

Less than an hour after Daniel returned with coffee and that damned blaring started up again. The staff came to life in the control room, but Chris couldn't get too excited. People came and went around this place like it was some stagecoach line weigh station.

"It's Colonel O'Neill's code!" the controller shouted and Chris jumped to his feet.

Hammond must have been sticking pretty close too, because he joined them before contact could be established with Jack and Vin.

"Don't open the iris until we have confirmation," Hammond said and Chris tensed. They're fine, he told himself, over and over.

O'Neill's voice came over the speakers all around the small room, scratchy and hard to make out, but there and definitely alive. 

"Status, Colonel?" Hammond asked and Chris froze in place, waiting to hear the news. Would have been a good time for Buck to be dogging his heels. He glanced to his right and Daniel was standing next to him, concentrating on Jack's voice.

"They're all right," Daniel whispered before Jack could report.

Daniel would know, just by listening to the Colonel. Chris stayed back, well aware this wasn't his place, even more aware he had just as much a right as any of them to be there.

"General," Jack said and Chris could hear how tired he was. "Mission completed. The threat's been eliminated."

"Casualties?" Hammond asked.

"We're going to need isolation units for sure, General. And you might want to have Tanner's blood type on hand. He's got a nasty compound fracture of the lower leg."

"Colonel, were you exposed to the biological agent?"

"I'm pretty sure we were, sir."

"Very well, we're setting up the isolation units now. I'll let you know when you we're ready for you." Hammond turned to the controller and nodded. "As soon as Dr. Fraiser is ready, open the iris."

"Sir?" Jack's voice again and Chris tensed.

"Go ahead, Colonel."

"SG2 is about three clicks from the gate, I'll let the retrieval teams know where to find them. How's Mills?"

Hammond didn't answer for a moment and Chris looked his way. 

"She's sick but holding on, Colonel."

"Roger that, standing by."

The static stopped and it took all Chris had to keep himself from fighting his way into the gateroom. He wasn't too sure about all he'd heard but he knew worry when he saw and heard it.

Lots of scurrying around down in the Gateroom and Chris watched from his place at the glass. Rooms on wheels set up for Vin and O'Neill and Chris couldn't help the niggling worry that Vin would have a hard time being locked up in the infirmary again. It wasn't long before the medical staff cleared the room and the iris opened.

Long moments before anything happened and Chris pressed closer to the glass wall. One moment nothing, the next, two figures stepped through the wall of water. Vin draped over Jack and Chris' hands clenched into fists.

Haggard, scruffy and blood covered, they paused at the top of the gateramp. Vin's head raised and his eyes met Chris'. A slight nod of his head and Jack guided him onto the narrow bed. No smile for him and that worried Chris more than the sight of Vin needing help into his cage. Once Vin was settled inside, Jack went into his own cage and shut the door. A wave up to the Gateroom and the medical team rushed back in, Fraiser shouting orders through that crazy looking suit she wore.

Chris watched the scene silently, keeping eye contact with Vin through the glass walls of his enclosure. He kept vigil until long after Vin's eyes closed and he was wheeled away. 

He finally noticed that he was the only one left at the glass when Daniel approached him.

"Chris." Daniel said, shuffling his weight from foot to foot. "They're taking Vin to surgery... it's going to be a few hours. Why don't you get some sleep."

Chris nodded and left the Gateroom without a word. Alive and relatively whole, Vin was back. It was what he hoped for, but he couldn't be thankful just yet. Not when they had this new threat to contend with. It was unseen and unknown, but not any less real.

He slowly returned to his quarters and curled up on the bed, his head on Vin's pillows. For the first time in two days, he'd sleep. 

****

An intense wave of deja-vu hit Chris where he sat, making his fists clench to keep from shaking. Only this time, he understood the things happening around him. 

A doctor came and went while he watched, checking the wound on Vin's leg, injecting something into the tube going into his arm.

Ten hours since their return and Vin slept soundly. Surgery took up eight of those hours and for the past two, Chris sat watching Vin sleep it off.

Chris had slept for four hours, then had four more to think about what they were doing to Vin in that operating room, wondering if he'd come out of it with one leg or two. He hadn't seen Daniel since Daniel followed Jack's cage out of the gateroom and he had no one to ask what was happening.

The one thing he had this time was faith these people knew what they were doing and would do what was necessary for Vin-- up to and including removing his leg. Chris wouldn't argue with them or Vin about it-- he was ready to accept what he couldn't change. Something he never would have expected from himself. Vin's doing, Chris knew. He just hoped if it came right down to it, Vin's nature would win out over his anger and hurt.

When he woke and went to the infirmary, a nurse told him Vin was still in surgery and left him waiting. Chris wasn't any good at waiting unless he had a bottle to help pass the time. Instead he sat with the rest of the guys, watching that television and listening to Buck's advice for JD. Seems the boy might have a little crush on Fraiser's daughter, Cassandra, and felt more than a little guilt about it. 

Buck's assurances that JD needed to get on with life, live a little, seemed a little too pointed to Chris. 

The phone rang and Ezra answered it, talking quietly while the television droned on in the background.

"Chris," Ezra called. "One person may go sit with Mr. Tanner while he recovers. If you report to the infirmary, a physician will escort you to him."

Chris nodded his thanks and rose, accepting all the good natured well wishes and nods from his friends. "I'll let you know when you can visit," Chris said as he left the Saloon.

He went back to studying Vin and his eyes caught on that contraption again. Looked like some mediaeval torture device attached just above Vin's knee and encasing his leg all the way to the ankle. Thin wires went from the metal cage directly into Vin's skin and down deep into the bone, the doctor told him. 

Vin's leg badly broken, the wires would hold everything in place until it stabilized and started to heal. It looked grotesque, and painful. Chris' comment that at least Vin hadn't lost his leg was met with a strange look and a shrug. Maybe that never was a possibility. Maybe he should have asked questions. Could have saved himself some grief.

Not many people came and went from Vin's room, and when they did, they were dressed in those bubble-headed suits. Chris understood quarantine, had seen it enough times. 

Vin started to stir and Chris kept watch. He couldn't do anything from high up behind the glass but be there. Doc Fraiser gave him the bad news earlier, Lt. Mills died while Vin was still in surgery. It would be a miracle if Jack and Vin didn't get sick, the way they'd been covered in contaminated blood. Chris never had believed in miracles.

One of the medics entered Vin's room, but Chris couldn't tell who it was through that suit. "He's almost awake," she said. She straightened the equipment, checked the tubes, laid out a basin and pitchers of water and ice.

A few more uncoordinated movements from Vin and she softly called his name, anchoring him as he came out of the drug induced sleep.

He woke quietly, accepted the ice she spooned into his mouth and answered her soft questions. Vin glanced up and Chris tipped his head. Chris finally got that smile he'd been looking for earlier, but it was tight and brief.

By mutual understanding, they'd wait to talk until they were alone. A strange sound Chris couldn't identify floated up through the speakers. He concentrated on it -- it didn't have the unnatural sound all the machine did. It almost sounded like drumming. 

He studied Vin closer, sure the sound had to be coming from him. Vin's body started shaking and Chris identified the sound -- it was Vin's teeth knocking together. He shivered harder and grimaced in pain. Chris slapped his hand on the switch that activated his end of the speakers and snapped, "He's freezing!"

"A side effect of the anesthesia, sir," the nurse answered as she opened a big metal chest. She pulled out a steaming blanket and wrapped it tightly around Vin, careful of his leg.

"Is that any better?" she asked after a minute. 

Vin nodded to her and she went back to studying the readouts. "Your temperature is a little low. How about another warm blanket?"

Vin nodded again and she piled another blanket on top of him.

"I'm going to leave you now," she said loud enough for Chris to hear. "If you feel sick, like last time, you let someone know. We gave you something to keep down the nausea, but it's going to make you sleepy. If you're in pain, press this button and you'll get medication to help manage it, all right?"

Vin nodded his understanding and huddled under the blankets, the shivering at least stopping.

Chris watched silently as she settled him, waiting until she was gone before talking through the microphone. "You need to break this habit you got of ending up in one of these little rooms."

Vin gave him a weak smile and curled up as best he could, the blanket nearly to his ears.

"Jack said you did real good, said he'd be happy to have you on his team any day. I told him you were on my team."

This time Vin did laugh, his eyes closing and the faint chuckles dying as soon as they began. Sure Vin was out and going to stay out for awhile, he picked up his book and started reading again. 

 

****

It wasn't all that unusual for both Jack and Daniel to be on the base at 0600 hours. Lots of missions required them to be at the mountain that early. It was definitely unusual, though, for Jack and Daniel to be sharing breakfast with a glass window between them.

There was absolutely no reason for Daniel to be there, with Jack in isolation in the infirmary. Except for the reason that it was coming up on forty-eight hours since his exposure, and they still didn't know if Jack had contracted Linnea's plague; if Jack did begin to show symptoms, Daniel wanted to be there for him. Daniel didn't come out and say that, of course, but Jack knew. Made it harder for him to swallow his Fruit Loops, this unspoken show of support, but Jack didn't mind. He decided it was good for him to get a little choked up now and then; it reminded him that there were some important, intangible things that held his team together and made them as effective as they were.

Jack pushed his bowl aside, not in the mood to force down cereal at the moment. Daniel's eyebrows went up as he chewed a bite of pancake, and Jack could practically read his mind. No Daniel, it's not illness, Jack said with a roll of his eyes, and pulled his own pancakes to the front of his tray, for emphasis. 

Daniel grinned around another mouthful, and Jack knew he'd made his point. The syrup was runny as he drizzled it over his pancakes, Jack noticed. He'd heard somewhere that real maple syrup was supposed to be runny, but Jack didn't care. Syrup was supposed to be thick and sticky. He had a sudden yearning for good, old-fashioned Aunt Jemima. He had a yearning for all things simple and familiar.

The runny syrup was decent, he admitted, as he mouthed his first bite. But still, with all that was happening, he found it difficult to force it force it down his throat. He did it, though, and managed another bite, too, before he sighed and pushed the plate back on the tray.

Of course, Daniel gave him another inquisite expression, but Jack just waved it off with a wince, so Daniel would know it wasn't his appetite, but more a matter of his nerves. He took a sip of his juice to wash down the pancakes, found it a little bit acidic. Great. Couldn't make himself eat, and the juice wasn't so great, either. He wished he had some coffee, but the dictatorial doc had decided that too much caffeine would be bad for the time being. It was a minor comfort that Daniel's tray remained absent of coffee as well.

 

Jack cocked an eyebrow over top of the pegged monitor of his Battleship game. It was one of the few games they'd been able to think of that they could play with the glass window between them. Daniel didn't have much of a Poker face, but he had a hell of a Battleship face. Aside from calling out ship coordinates, they hadn't spoken more than four words each all morning, the only words Jack wanting to hear from Daniel being, "You sank my battleship!"

Taking a sip of his water, Jack realized that the sting from his juice earlier hadn't left his throat. Probably nothing, but Jack figured they'd know for sure soon enough. The doc had just left with another blood sample. He had to admit that he was maybe a tad concerned about the chills that had gradually worked their way through Jack's body with more frequency as the morning wore on. So either he was really coming down with something, or he was worrying himself sick, literally.

Daniel called out a set of battleship coordinates, and Jack dutifully the peg into the battleship on his board. Just then, Fraiser walked into the observation room and approached the glass. 

The look on her face said it all, and when Daniel glanced up and saw it, panic lit his eyes. Jack swallowed, finally able to acknowledge to himself that it hurt. He looked from Fraiser and back to Daniel. "You sank my battleship."

*****


	26. 26

******  
Chris watched closely as Vin tore into his breakfast. Vin ate like a man on a mission and Chris watched him a little longer before biting into his own egg sandwich. Good appetite, that was a good sign, wasn't it? Vin's plate piled high with something Chris couldn't identify, he just shook his head. Vin and JD were the only ones didn't complain about the food in this place

It was surprising, really, that Vin didn't complain; the food was so different from what he was used to. Then again, Vin wasn't a complainer. Now Buck and Ezra, the two of them made up for everyone else. 

Chris smiled a little, holding back a bigger grin. Buck's dinner antics the night before reminding him that some things never changed, no matter what century he lived in. 

Vin finished his breakfast and gave a huge belch before wiping his face down with his napkin. "Feels like I ain't ate in days," Vin said as he shrugged, his voice flat and tinny through the speakers. 

Chris put down his sandwich and watched Vin try to get comfortable. His leg lay braced on a funny stand attached to the metal contraption that encircled it. Vin shifted some more then let out a big sigh.

Chris arched an eyebrow and Vin shrugged again.

"M'bored," Vin finally said.

"No help for that," Chris answered, watching Vin squirm some more. 

"Any word on Jack?"

It was Chris' turn to sigh. "I've been here with you all morning."

Vin squirmed some more, adjusting his pillows and then his leg. Chris found himself getting just a little bit annoyed. Wasn't long before Vin would get out of that bed he was supposed to be confined to. The doctor stressed that he wasn't to get out of bed, the bones in his leg needing to be held just so or they could slip out of place. Once the healing began, Vin would be free to move around. Now seemed to be the perfect time to be the great diversion Vin accused him of being.

"I had a little adventure while you were gone."

Vin stopped adjusting his blankets and looked up. "That so?" he asked, interest written all over his face.

"I even got to shoot somebody," Chris said, giving Vin the sly grin that always got Vin's blood going.

"This I gotta hear," Vin said as he pulled himself higher on the bed and threw his blankets off. He didn't try to get out of bed though.

"Me and Daniel and Buck went down to New Mexico."

Vin's eyes narrowed and he studied Chris for a long minute. "Well?" he said when Chris didn't go on. "Out with it, Larabee."

"Nope, first you tell me all about your adventure, then I'll tell you about mine."

"You're lucky there's walls between us, Chris. I got ways of getting the truth from a man." Vin's grin turned wicked and Chris got a warm feeling that started in his gut and settled in his balls.

"I look forward to seeing that," Chris said as he leaned back in his chair.

Vin sighed before he said anything and Chris knew it for what it was, frustration, worry and boredom; not a good combination. 

"Me and Jack went through the gate, but you saw that part. We killed that demon and the plague lady and took out a passel of the guards, then had to give chase to the rest of them. I broke my leg, we went to sleep, got up and hunted down the rest of them. Then we came back. Now it's your turn."

He could play this game too. "Daniel, me and Buck drove down to New Mexico, went to a museum, some fellows shot at us, we shot back, then we flew back in the belly of a big metal bird."

Vin gave him an annoyed look and Chris folded his arms across his chest and smiled. "Think we wasted about two minutes there, pard. What do you want to do next?"

"Fine, fine," Vin grumbled. "You wanna hear a story, I get that. But you gotta tell me your story and you gotta use some 'a them words you hoard like Ezra hoards gold."

"Deal," Chris said as he pulled his feet on an empty chair and got comfortable. By his reckoning, they had hours to kill before Vin was in the clear.

**********

 

Jack and Vin stepped through the gate and into a perfect day. The sky so blue and big, it rivaled the western prairies. Fluffy white clouds drifted high above and the air was fresh and clean. 

Vin took a deep breath and savored the clean air. One thing he couldn't get used to, no matter how many times he went to the outside part of the base with Jack, was just how foul the air smelled and tasted. 

Jack pulled a map out of his pack and Vin stood, hip-shot, rifle slung over his shoulder, to wait for him to set their course. He didn't mind running, never had. When he was a gangly teenager, he and the other boys in the village would run for hours at a time, just to burn off energy and explore their world. 

He took a few small sips from his canteen while he waited. Small sips would wet his whistle, but not cramp his stomach. 

"I figure we should try to get here," Jack pointed to a spot on the map, "before we try to find them. Once we hit this spot, we're going to have to make sure we don't overtake them. This entire mission hinges on us surprising them."

Vin nodded; this was Jack's show, he was here to make a shot. He had no problem following when the person leading knew the score.   
They set off again, Jack leading and Vin trailing a few steps behind. He grew frustrated with the pace, even knowing they had many miles to cover; he itched to stretch his legs and run. Even the pack wouldn't slow him down. Hell, he could cart around a lot more weight than they'd loaded him up with.

Jack's slowing pace almost had Vin running into his backside. They were on the outskirts of the city, a farm not too distant from where they stopped.

Jack motioned for Vin to turn around and when he did, he felt Jack unzipping one of the compartments on his pack. He turned back around and watched as Jack held something to his eyes. Spyglass, Vin knew, even if it didn't look like one. He stood silently, breathing even and deep while he waited.

"We should go around the city," Jack said and Vin nodded. "If we have a choice, we don't want to come in contact with any of the bodies. We don't know how this thing is spread and we want to avoid it."

Made sense to Vin and he nodded again. Jack pointed to some hills in the distance and Vin followed his pointing finger.

"We'll have a better idea of the terrain if we head up there. Take a look, there's a ridge about halfway across that first rise."

Vin took the spyglass and raised it to his eyes. Used to his own spyglass, Vin took a moment to study where to hold it and how to look through it. He got his first look through the modern device and nearly dropped it. The ridge had to be at least a mile away, but through the glass, he felt he could reach out and touch the leaves on the trees. He scanned the entire area, doing smooth and easy sweeps across the landscape. Didn't that just beat all. He could probably see all the way to the moon with that thing!

He'd play with it later... once he finished getting his bearings and setting some markers. He dropped the spyglass from his eyes and turned to Jack.

Jack smiled at him and Vin wondered if he looked like a kid staring at shelves and shelves full of candy. Didn't matter, he knew, Jack had enough experience showing him new things and hadn't once made fun of him. He wasn't too sure he would be the same.

Jack looked through the device again, this time focusing on the city in the distance. After a few moments, he turned back to Vin.

"It doesn't look like they've made it to town yet. Take another look and tell me what you think."

Vin did as asked, taking the device from Jack and taking his time looking at the city. Nothing moved on the ground, large predatory birds circled lazily in the sky and he couldn't hear any signs of life. He focused in on a pile of bodies near a road that led right into town and he studied them with the eyes of a man tracking and not a man looking at what used to be more than a dozen people.

"Can't see too far into town," he said as he handed the spyglass back to Jack. He thought on things some while Jack scanned the area some more. "We ought to be able to see them even if we head to high ground. If they come through the city while we're skirting it, we'll know." 

"Yup," Jack said as he dropped the glasses around his neck, dangling from a cord. "Ready?" Jack asked giving him a sideways glance, then looking to the hills in the distance.

Vin nodded and they set off again.

He didn't know how long they ran, he concentrated on breathing deep and easy, keeping his strides long and steady. He could cover a lot of ground in a short time, he knew from experience; he wondered if Jack could too. Jack had to be old as Josiah, or maybe even older. It kind of got his back up a little, the way Jack called him 'kid' so often. But Jack earned that right, unlike a lot of fellers who called him kid.

Vin checked his watch-- they'd been on the move for a total of three hours. Jack stood bent at the waist, and held out the spyglass. Vin took it and swept the city nestled in the valley spread out below them. He took his time, searching for any sign of life at all. He didn't see any. 

He sipped his water while he waited for Jack, not sure exactly what the next part of the plan was. A few minutes later and Jack straightened up and sipped from his own canteen.

Vin swept the area again, looking to where the horizon met the land. Nothing, not even a puff of dust to signal movement. He waited quietly, while the colonel decided what to do next. If they couldn't find the people they were after, the entire mission would be for naught.

Unzipping of a zipper and Vin studied Jack. The colonel pulled a map from his jacket pocket and unfolded it while Vin looked on. 

"Here," Jack said after a few moments. "Look," he pointed to a spot on the map. 

Hell, it all looked like jibberish to him. Wavy circles, different colors, he thought he recognized a river, but that didn't help him any. He shrugged his shoulders. "Just show me where to set up and I reckon I'll be fine."

The wind picked up a little and Vin shivered, his cooling sweat carrying away his body heat a little too efficiently. He pulled his jacket up higher, adjusted his pack on his shoulders more comfortably and nodded to Jack. 

They stopped more often on this leg of the run, just looking for any sign of the enemy. The place Jack pointed out on the map turned out to be a canyon a few miles past the other end of the city. A road wound through the canyon and another road criss-crossed the first at the mouth of the canyon.

"Perfect place for an ambush," Vin observed when Jack pointed it out to him.

"How good are you at climbing?" Jack asked.

Vin tilted his head to the side, studying the area around them. Only place to climb was up onto a ridge that looked a little soft, scattered boulders and loose dirt with some small shrubs clinging to life on the barren hillside. 

"Been called half Billy-goat by some, but they were usually fellers couldn't get out of their own way."

"Up we go then," Jack said as he struck out for the ridge. "We better make it quick, can't see too far into that canyon. They could be anywhere."

"You sure they're coming this way, Colonel?"

"According to the map, it's the only direct route to the gate from where SG2 engaged them."

Vin nodded and climbed as fast as he could. The ground was a little more stable than it looked from a distance and the climb was easier than he'd expected.

It didn't take them long to set up, Colonel O'Neill draping their position with a camouflage covering once they were set.

They both checked and rechecked their weapons, plus loaded extras. All they had left to do was wait.

"You mind if I ask you a question?" Vin asked once they were set and comfortable, laying on their bellies side by side.

"Ask away," Jack said, not taking his eye away from his rifle sight.

"Why didn't we set up right near the gate. If they're gonna head through it, ain't that the best place to wait for 'em?"

"If we had an entire team, we could," Jack said, not taking his eyes from his scope. "If we miss, we need room to fall back and space to stop them from getting through the gate. We've got a back-up plan too and we need time and space if it comes to that."

"Makes sense," Vin said, as he adjusted his scope. He set his shot to cover the mouth of the canyon and settled in to wait. He listened to Jack's instructions on where exactly he'd have to shoot the demon; he would need to shoot him through the neck, just under the chin. He wouldn't get a second chance.

He watched through his scope, taking breaks to clear his vision every ten minutes or so. As time passed, Vin's focus became narrowed to the view through his rifle sight. 

"You think we missed them?" Vin asked, breaking the hour-long silence.

"No chance," Jack answered.

"Colonel, this place screams ambush-- mebbe they went around."

"Trust me, they didn't."

Vin went silent again. He didn't quite trust O'Neill's word but he would take it-- O'Neill's experience had to count for something. He thought about what he would say if the colonel went to *his* time and tried to tell him how to track desperados. 

"They won't go around because they're arrogant," Jack said, breaking the silence they'd fallen into. When Vin didn't answer, Jack glanced at him. "They think they're invincible, Vin. They won't be expecting any resistance. If they thought they'd have any trouble, they'd have been here by now."

"They that good?" Vin asked.

Jack went silent again, looking through his scope. A few minutes went by before he answered. "Yes and no. They steal technology from the people they conquer and they have more firepower than we do. Their shields usually make the actual Gao'uld invulnerable to us, but we've never sniped them before."

"I don't reckon it'll work more'n once or so."

"Depends if we get them or not," Jack said as he smiled. "If we get them, they won't have a chance to tell anyone else how we did it."

"Good point," Vin said as he set himself to take his shot. 

"You see that?" Jack asked.

"Got it." 

A dust cloud on the horizon. Not a large one, just puffs here and there indicating movement. A few moments later, a small flock of birds flew out from the top of the canyon, about two hundred yards in or so. They were far enough away from their target and had been there long enough, Vin was confident they wouldn't be detected.

He braced himself, setting up his shot right about where he thought the demon's head would be. It was a guess since Jack didn't have any idea who this guy was, but Vin had long years of experience setting up just this type of shot. He hadn't killed many men from this vantage, but he had winged more than one bounty he'd tracked. Made it a hell of a lot easier to take them in. 

Long minutes passed and he concentrated on his breathing and aim. The sooner he took the shot the better. The closer the prey came, the more likely they'd be detected.

There! A group of people coming out of the canyon. They weren't moving too fast, but they were moving. First, six men he recognized as Jaffa from their outfits and forehead marks. Another group of four and then a woman and a man.

They neither looked to the left nor right as they walked, none speaking to each other. Vin watched them advance, aware of Jack to his right. 

"Whenever you're ready," Jack whispered.

Vin's world narrowed to his rifle and his target. He took his time, letting the rhythm of the target's steps come to him. He'd practiced enough with the rifle to know how long it would take the bullet to travel the three fourths of a mile between him and his target. 

He had been in position long enough to have the angle memorized. He didn't need the fancy gear Jack taught him to use on the base range. Angle finders, wind speed and direction indicators... while they came in handy, he didn't *need* them.

He exhaled and pulled the trigger. A double tap, the second bullet would leave the barrel right after the first. He didn't wait to see if his aim was true, he swung his sight on the woman. Jack's gun fired and then he fired again. 

More firing from Jack and Vin searched the targets. Four down, including the woman and demon and Vin set his sights on more of those Jaffa.

"I've got the Jaffa," Jack shouted. "Hit the primary targets again. Head shots if you can."

Vin did as he was told and shot the targets again. He squeezed off a total of six more shots. He stopped firing and checked them through his sight. The demon went down with Vin's very first shot. His neck gaped open and his head was half missing. He checked the woman next. Head shot too; that meant he'd got her too. Jack aimed for her chest. Vin aimed for her head.

Jack still firing next to him, Vin sighted more targets. Four Jaffa were down and Vin searched out the other six. They'd made their way back into the canyon. Jack stopped firing and Vin took a moment to look his way.

"Nice shooting," Jack said. Colonel O'Neill grabbed their gear and motioned for Vin to do the same. They still had six targets to eliminate.

They headed down toward the canyon walls and Vin kept his thoughts to himself. Just like they'd been able to ambush their targets with the help of the land, they'd have no chance chasing them into that canyon.

Once on flat ground, Jack handed over the spyglass. 

Vin took his time looking for their prey while Jack loaded their gear back up. They worked silently. Jack had their packs loaded and motioned for Vin to turn around. 

Vin strapped his pack on and held his rifle at the ready, waiting for instructions.

"We can't go in after them," Jack said, once he'd looked through the spyglass. "That's all right, they'll be coming after us soon enough."

"Any other way out of there?" Vin asked.

"Up and over, or backtracking at least ten miles."

"I'd go up and over, if'n I was them."

"Me too," Jack said. "Let's put some ground between us, start heading back to the gate."

"You reckon they'll be coming after us?"

Jack didn't answer right away. He looked down toward the bodies, pointing at them. "That guy you killed? They think he's a god and *can't* be killed. So yeah, they'll be coming after us."

Vin couldn't help smiling. "Good. Means we won't have to chase them."

Jack slapped Vin on the back. "Kid, I like your style," Jack said around a chuckle.

 

The next few hours were spent laying a trail for the Jaffa to follow. It had been Vin's idea, getting them to come into another ambush. Jack insisted those Jaffa would be out for their blood. Vin said they shouldn't disappoint them.

They laid the trail in the general direction of the gate, even if the Jaffa didn't give chase, they sure as hell would be heading back to the gate.

Vin settled in some undergrowth, checking over the last of his handiwork. Jack signaled to him from his position. Vin was positive the Jaffa were following the trail, he'd seen their sign on the last back-trail check he did. The trick would be getting them into the shooting gallery they'd set up.

Vin signaled back to Jack, indicating he was ready. He listened for the sounds of the forrest-- or rather the lack of sound. Something was close.

Clicks in his ear and he nodded-- that was their signal... two clicks on the microphone, but otherwise, radio silence.

Slight movement in the greenery and he sighted two targets. Perfect! He double checked Jack's position and fired, his gun set to automatic. Fifty rounds inside of seconds and there was nothing left of the two Jaffa but blood and gore. His ears still ringing from his P-90, Vin almost didn't hear Jack shouting. Jack's gun firing, that he heard. 

Jack shot over his head, again, and Vin hit the dirt. Hell, they must be right behind him! Instead of getting the Jaffa in their cross-hairs, *they* were the ones in the cross-hairs. He spotted some better cover of a dead tree a few yards away. He put his faith in Jack, knowing he'd be covered. 

Blasts like dynamite tore up the ground around him as he dove and rolled. He made it behind the tree-fall and ducked down. He popped up as soon as he was set and laid down cover fire for Jack. Two of the Jaffa were behind Jack, flanking him too. Hell, Jack was pinned.

He left his cover to shoot, get the two who'd been shooting at him off of Jack's tail. He braced himself on the dead tree, took the time to aim and pulled the trigger. His first burst took them unaware, cutting one of the Jaffa in half. The other turned his walking stick-- the one that shot dynamite-- in Vin's direction and he decided he needed cover. He dove behind the tree, landing hard. He scrambled to his feet quick as he could, gripping his gun tight. 

He could see Jack ducking though the undergrowth, running for cover. If he didn't start shooting, Jack would be cut down. Explosions, gunfire, shouting in a foreign language, it all ran together. He'd been in tighter spots before, had no problem keeping a cool head.

He tried to find the missing two Jaffa, needed to get a bead on them. 

"Vin!" from Jack, at least a few hundred yards away. Just as Vin spun, ready to dive out of the way of that walking stick, the Jaffa fired. An explosion so close to him, he felt his skin flush and Vin flew through the air. Something hit his leg, hard. Felt like it'd taken the full force of the blast. Vin landed in a heap, not sure of up or down, all of his breath whooshing out of him. He lay on the ground, stunned, dazed, vulnerable to attack-- his leg on fire. His body wouldn't listen; he couldn't move.

A P-90 firing just yards away, then Jack at his side. 

"Vin!"

Vin waved his hand, he still couldn't talk, couldn't catch his breath.

Jack fired into the forrest again, startling Vin. He finally caught his breath, but that didn't help the rest of him. Damn, that hurt!

"With me?" Jack asked, his face appearing in Vin's vision.

Vin nodded, still unable to talk.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here."

"Not sure I can move," Vin wheezed out

"No choice. I'll carry you if I have to. Do I have to?"

"Give me a minute." Vin uncurled, tried to straighten, tried to get a look at his leg. All he could feel from it was pain, he couldn't sort what needed sorting. He staggered to his feet, keeping as much of his weight off his leg as he could.

Jack grabbed his arm, supported him.

"We need to get something at our backs, we're too exposed here."

Vin nodded and did his best to keep up, a combination of hopping and leaning on Jack doing the trick. They didn't go far, only a few hundred yards to some standing boulders. They had cover for two sides.

He dropped to the ground, sucking in a huge breath when he hit hard. He tried to curl up on his side again, but hands rolled him to his back.

"Let me look," Jack ordered. 

Vin covered his face with his arm, squeezing his eyes shut tight, trying to get a handle on the pain. Aw hell!

"Crap," from Jack and Vin tried to sit up. A hand across his chest held him down. Hands at his belt and Vin didn't fight them.

"This is going to hurt."

Jack wrapped both their belts around Vin's leg, he could feel him doing it but he didn't look. Strapping done right might give him the support he'd need to walk. 

"It broke?" Vin finally asked.

"I'm no doctor, kid, but it looks that way."

"That warrior shot the tree I was using for cover. It exploded like someone stuffed it full of dynamite."

"Looks like you got hit by the tree. Hold still, I need to get a look."

Vin felt his pants leg being cut, tried not to flinch. 

"It broke the skin but it's not too bad."

Vin nodded, his arm still covering his face. "Any sign of them?"

Fumbling above him and he knew Jack was scanning the area, he didn't need to look.

"Nope, no sign of them. I want to feel the bone, see if I can tell if it's broken, okay?"

Vin nodded and braced himself for the pain. Gentle hands, but it still hurt like hell. Even if Jack wasn't touching him, it would still hurt like hell.

"Bad news, kid," Jack said as he sat back with a sigh.

Vin took his arm away from his face and tried to read Jack's face. "Broke?"

"I can feel some give in the bone."

"Shit."

"Here's the plan," Jack said as he rummaged through his pack, coming up seconds later with a small bag. He unzipped it and laid out what looked like a med kit. "I'm going to give you a shot of morphine and we're going to get the hell out of here."

"Don't need it."

"Oh yes you do," Jack hissed. "We've got to put some space between us and them, get some sleep and go after them. If you can't move, we've got a problem."

"I don't need it!"

A sharp stab in his thigh and Vin struggled to sit up, fighting the arm across his belly.

"Give it a little time. It won't kill the pain completely, but you should be able to walk. You shouldn't be walking on it, but we don't have a choice here."

Vin didn't answer, just stared at Jack as Jack put away the med kit.

"Sorry about that, but we need to move. It's not going to hurt too bad after a little while, but try not to put too much weight on it, you could do permanent damage."

"You should have thought of that before you went stabbing me!"

"Stand down, Tanner," Jack said, pushing him back to the ground. "Stay put, I'm going to find something for you to lean on and while I do, you're going to rest."

Jack handed him a gun and took off into the underbrush. Left alone, with nothing to do, Vin had nothing to concentrate on but the pain radiating through his leg. Hell, he was gonna puke. He fought down the bile, took deep breaths and worked through it. He'd broken bones before, felt like all his bones when he threw himself off a cliff to escape from that bastard bounty hunter. 

Now wasn't the time to think about that. He listened, really listened to what was happening around him. His head started to feel a little muddled, but the pain started to lessen. He would fight it down to a tolerable level and go on with the mission. They weren't done yet.

He struggled to sit up, finally making it, and leaned against the boulders. He'd broken out in a sweat and woken up the fire in his leg again. Shit, he was going to be a burden now, but not if he could help it.

He willed away the pain, like he'd been taught, and with the help of the drug Jack shot him up with, he finally felt like he could breathe again.

He heard Jack coming before he saw him, had himself composed and ready to go. He used the boulder for leverage and made it to his feet, waiting silently for Jack to get back to him. A few minutes on his feet and he did feel at least a little better.

"Feel better?" Jack asked as he made it to Vin's side.

Vin ignored the question, instead asking, "Any sign of them?"

Jack shook his head and held out a small, stout tree limb, stripped of the smaller branches and leaves. 

"Thanks," Vin said, taking it. He took a few minutes to look around, to battle down the pain to where he barely noticed it. "We need to hide our tracks if we're going to settle down for the night."

"I'll do it," Jack said.

"Colonel, I reckon you're good at this sort of thing, but I'm better." Vin wasn't bragging, just stating a fact. "You go ahead and I'll cover our trail. If you can scout out a good place to hunker down, I reckon that'd be best."

Jack stared him down for a few minutes, finally nodding to him. "Good job back there, Vin. Almost done. There's only two of them left."

"Hell, odds are in *our* favor now."

Jack nodded. "You got that right. Okay, let's go."

Vin let Jack lead through the forrest; with something to concentrate on, he could mostly ignore the pain. It took long years of training himself to do it, but if his body was capable of moving, he did it, no matter how much he hurt. 

It took them a few hours, not only did they have to cover their trail, but they also had to make sure they weren't being hunted *and* they had to find a fairly safe place to bunk for the night.

As it began to grow dark, Vin's mind began to lose the battle with his body. His mind told his leg to just wait, it'd get tended soon enough, but it wasn't willing to wait much longer.

Jack was pretty good at not leaving a trail, Vin learned soon enough, and he didn't have to do much to cover it. He had a little harder time covering his own trail, especially with the walking stick. He gave up on using the crutch after awhile, it was creating more work than it was helping. 

He was grateful Jack ambushed him and stuck that needle into him, though he wasn't about to admit it. That was something Chris would have done and Vin almost lost concentration when his mind went to Chris. Larabee had to be worried sick by now, but there was no help for that. They'd been in enough tight situations that he knew Chris wouldn't underestimate him and his abilities, but if Chris wasn't there, couldn't see for himself, couldn't take control, even if it was only in his own mind, he'd worry himself sick. Hopefully, Buck was keeping him busy.

Vin checked behind him, satisfied only an experienced tracker would see the signs of their passing. They must have gone a few miles from where they fought the Jaffa and Vin was worn to the bone. As long as Jack kept moving, he would too. He looked ahead to where Jack sat on a boulder, reading the map again.

"See somewhere we can stop soon?" Vin asked. 

Jack looked up and stared at him, cocking his head to the side as he studied him. Vin knew he must look a mess, there wasn't really any help for that.

"This map isn't all that much help," Jack said. "Outside of the roads and major landmarks, we haven't mapped this planet. SG2 was here to trade for mining rights and they would have gotten better maps."

Vin didn't want to think about the people of this planet, didn't want to think about them trading and making plans for their future. They were all dead, if the report from SG2 was accurate. He nodded to Jack and settled on the boulder next to him. He took the time to drink from his canteen, shaking it to see how much was left.

"I'm carrying extra. Drink," Jack said when he saw what Vin was doing.

"We don't know how long we're gonna be here and you said we can't drink the water." Vin shivered as he replaced his canteen.

"Sun will be down soon," Jack said. "We better find a place."

"Colonel?" Vin asked before Jack could get up and moving.

At Vin's tone, Jack paid attention to him, stopped loading his gear back up.

"What if they head back to the gate instead of giving chase?"

"That won't happen. But if it does, I rigged the gate so they can't dial out. If Linnea or the Goa'uld were with them, they'd figure it out soon enough, but the Jaffa won't."

"I better make sure nothing happens to you, then," Vin said, chuckling a little.

"The instructions are in this pocket," Jack said, patting the top of his right thigh, "right where I told you they'd be. If something happens to me, finish the mission if you can, then go back to the gate."

Vin didn't share that he probably wouldn't be able to read complicated instructions. He knew his letters well enough, Mary had taught him that much two years ago, but he couldn't decipher much beyond basic sentences. He'd just have to make sure Jack made it. He almost laughed at himself, then, knowing he was the liability right now, not Jack.

"Let's go," Jack said. He hauled Vin to his feet and Vin let Jack lead the way again. They still had work to do before they could even think about going home.

It was nearly dark by the time Jack found a suitable place for them to spend the night. It was a natural blind, thick ground cover hiding a stand of trees deep in the forrest. Vin dropped his pack and nearly collapsed to the ground. Hell, every single part of him hurt now; he was one giant bruise. More than his leg had taken hits from chunks of that tree, but nothing else was broken, of that he was sure.

He sat, leaning against a tree while Jack unpacked a few things. Vin felt like he should be up helping, but he couldn't make his body move. The dull ache up and down his leg was turning back into bolts of lightening. 

He started shivering; when the sun went down, it took what little warmth there was with it. He pulled his jacket up a little higher. He ignored the utter misery he was in; there wasn't anything to be done for it. He was cold, they couldn't make a fire; his leg broken, he still had to walk miles the next day; he stomach rumbled, but all they had to eat were them bars that tasted like adobe clay before it set. Nope, he wasn't going to dwell. He leaned his head against the tree and closed his eyes. A little rest might make him see things a little more clearly.

"Here," from above him and Vin opened his eyes.

"Thanks," he said, taking the food from Jack's outstretched hand. A blanket followed and Vin pulled it tight around his shoulders, thankful for the small gesture.

Jack went back to setting up their cold camp and Vin nibbled on his dinner. Tasted like crap but it was a lot of energy in a small package. Hell, hardtack and pemican was much worse and he'd eaten that combination more than enough times when he'd had to set up a cold camp in the past. At least this powerbar thing wouldn't try to break his teeth.

He forced it down quickly, swallowing a mouthful of water to help it along. He let his eyes close, still sure he should be helping Jack, but not sure he could.

"Vin?" A hand on his shoulder and his name called a few times had Vin startling awake. The forrest around him pitch-black, he couldn't see a foot from the end of his nose. He tried to get more comfortable but it was an impossible task, sitting up against a tree like he was. He moved his leg and nearly cried out from the pain. 

"Easy," Jack said from just above him. "Here, put these on." 

Jack handed him a set of spectacles that were even funnier looking than the ones Daniel gave him on their vacation. He put them over his eyes and waited for his sight to adjust. It was like looking through a whole new world. One where everything was a glowing green color. He could see Jack. Hell, didn't that just beat all. 

"I want to give you more morphine. If we're going on the hunt tomorrow, you have to sleep tonight and you're not going to be able to sleep if you don't let me."

"Fine. Damn bossy old-folk, thinking just cause they got a lot 'a years behind 'em they can go tellin people what to do," Vin mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that," Jack sing-songed.

Vin didn't answer, instead he studied their surroundings through the strange spectacles.

"Night vision," Jack told him as he unfolded the med-kit. "These shots are pre-measured and field-ready. All I have to do is pull the cap off and stick you with it."

"Well ain't that convenient," Vin huffed out. "I don't want to be out of my head if something happens."

"I won't give you that much. Two doses should just about do it. These are small doses just for that reason. If the pain is so bad you can't move when you need to, then you'll be in worse trouble than if you're a little loopy."

"Reckon you got a point," Vin sighed out.

"If you still can't sleep in about half an hour or so, I'll give you some more." 

Jack stuck him as he was still talking, surprising Vin enough to make him jump. Jack cuffed him on the head as he stood and Vin leaned back against the tree.

"Don't sleep with those on," Jack called as he settled back against a tree across from Vin and pulled his blanket up around his shoulders and neck.

Vin tried to doze off again and he was pretty sure he did for a few minutes, but he was so cold, he couldn't stop shivering. 

"Tanner!" Jack called out and Vin looked in his direction, even though he couldn't see him. "Your teeth are chattering so loud, they'll find us by following the sound."

"Cain't help it. I'm like to freeze my balls off."

Rustling from Jack's direction and Vin settled back against the tree. He tried to stop shivering, but it wasn't working. Hell, he should tell Jack to stick more of that stuff in him, maybe it would knock him out.

The sound grew closer and Vin put the night vision goggles back on. What the hell? Jack was moving his camp. 

"Scoot forward a little and let me lean against the tree," Jack said as he dropped to the ground. "It'll be warmer if we share."

"You don't mind?" Vin asked, looking forward to a warm body to lean against instead of that cold tree.

"Why would I mind? I'm freezing my nuts off too-- and this way we get two blankets."

Vin let Jack get settled before he moved backward to lean against Jack. It took them a few minutes to find a comfortable position, finally settling on Jack's arms wrapped around Vin, with Vin's legs settled in front of him. He just hoped Jack didn't kick the broken one during the night.

"Better?" Jack asked after a few minutes.

Vin nodded in response and shut his eyes. It was going to be a long night followed by an even longer day; he could tell already.

 

**********

Chris settled back in his chair and took a series of long, slow breaths. He'd been about to knock out that glass and jump in there and strangle Vin. It'd been bad enough, hearing about how Vin broke his damn leg, but then he'd gone on and explained, rather vividly, about the cold night spent holed-up on that planet, and their third attempt the next day to trap those Jaffa and kill them. What the hell had Vin been thinking, leaping out of that tree onto that warrior? If he'd been on that planet in Jack's place, Chris liked think he'd have thought of tying Vin to the damn tree to keep him in it. He guessed the Colonel didn't know Vin as well as he did, though. Well, Jack would sure know better next time, Chris thought, shaking his head.

It was good timing, he supposed, the medical staff coming in, wearing those funny bubble suits to check on Vin. He'd asked Vin to tell him all about the mission, and he'd pushed for the details, but hearing them set him on edge a lot more than he'd anticipated. Knowing the outcome-- Vin making it back in one, albeit rather broken, piece-- hadn't made the story any easier at all to hear.

Vin wasn't stupid, and he didn't take chances he didn't have to, but he was never one to back down from something that had to be done, no matter how crazy it sounded later. This was the man, after all, who once drove a charging pair of carriage horses toward a cliff that dropped into a rocky ravine, before bailing off the wagon at the last minute. So of course, Vin wouldn't have a problem with leaping out of a tree, broken leg and all, onto the back of a warrior twice his size, and slitting that warrior's throat, if it was what he believed had to be done. The only stupid thing was for Chris not to have anticipated hearing something like that, and upon hearing it, want to whack Vin a few times for making his stomach turn over as it had.

Looking through the glass at the staff fussing around Vin now, he figured any aggravation they were causing Vin was well-deserved. Chris had no sympathy whatsoever for the poking and prodding on Vin's leg, or for the needle stuck in his arm for taking more of his blood to test, or for the funny light they kept shining in his eyes.

But then, when one of the staff backed away, and Chris got a good look at the agony twisting Vin's face as they fiddled with the contraption on his leg, he changed his mind lightning quick. Much as it made Chris feel better to say Vin deserved to be in pain, it always tore a hole inside him to see the pain made real. Which was exactly why Chris' stomach had leapt into his throat when he'd heard about the chances Vin had taken on that planet.

Chris scooted forward in the chair again, this time leaning his elbows onto the table in front of him and resting his throbbing head in his hands. Why in the hell would hearing about Vin causing himself physical pain make Chris wish even more pain on him, even for a second? Damn, but nobody could twist him up inside the way Tanner could.

Chris looked up again, just as the last of the staff closed the door, leaving Vin alone again in there. Vin met his eyes through the glass, and he gave Chris a weak grin.

"All right, pard. Give me the rest of it now? How'd Jack get the two of you back to the gate?"

Vin sighed, then winced as he shifted, trying to get comfortable. Wish Vin pain? Hell, Chris'd feel it all in Vin's place for him, if he could. But if he told Vin that, Vin would likely take a swing at him when he got out of there, for treating him like a squaw or some such nonsense. So Chris bit back words of comfort he didn't know how to give anyway, and waited for Vin to settle again. Chris figured the best he could do, is listen and give Vin something to occupy his time best he could, to help keep his mind off the aches and boredom.

 

**********

 

Vin didn't know how long he waited for Jack to return, but he knew he slept. He fought off the need for sleep, but his body gave out on him. He woke alone to the sun filtering through the trees, sounds of the forrest soothing him. 

He pushed down his worry; Jack was fine when he left, if they were going to get sick, it would take a couple of days. He couldn't get his head around the idea that he and Jack were likely the only two people left alive on this planet. It made the world seem too big. 

He shifted to try to get comfortable, wishing Jack left that bag with the morphine for him. Hell, he was craving some relief at this point. And if he didn't have to get ten miles back to the Stargate to get home, he'd beg for so much of that drug he wouldn't know what planet he was on.

Lying there feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to get him back to the Stargate. He hoped Colonel O'Neill came back with a modern vehicle; he didn't think he could take the pounding riding a horse would mean.

He tried to sleep some more, but with nothing to distract him, he couldn't get past the pain. He was starting to worry; he'd never broken a bone so bad it stuck out of the skin. Not even the time he broke the whole left side of his body. He didn't think about what it would mean if it didn't heal right. He pushed that thought right out of his head. Right now, getting off this death planet and not getting sick was more important. The sick part? Well, he couldn't do anything about that, but he sure as hell could drag his sorry ass home. If Jack brought back a car. That'd be right nice.

He lay on the ground, staring up at the canopy of trees, watching the sun move across the sky. He heard the sound long before Jack was close enough to see. Off in the distance, the low thrum of something mechanical. The sound stopped a ways away and Vin just knew he'd have to make it to whatever vehicle Jack found. He pushed himself to his feet, denying the urge to vomit when the pain hit him. He always hated that feeling, refused to give in to it.

Not long after he got to his feet, Jack became visible through the trees. 

"Wait until you see what I found," Jack yelled, once Vin started waving to him.

Vin tried to meet him halfway, but as soon as he tried to move, he realized he wouldn't be going anywhere under his own steam. It wasn't fair to be so close to going home and not being able to do a damn thing about getting himself there.

"Whoa," Jack said, reaching out to steady Vin when he got in reach. "I'll take it from here." He helped Vin back to the ground and pulled both their packs into reach. "I'm going to put everything in one pack."

Vin thought on his words some before he spoke. He wouldn't complain; he hated listening to people complain. "Colonel?"

Jack stopped sorting their gear and looked up. 

"I think it might be a good idea to give me some more of that morphine, if you don't want to carry me."

Jack smiled and shook his head. "I'm going to carry you because you've done enough damage already." Jack held up his hand to stop Vin's response. "I'm also going to give you more morphine. And since you don't have to worry about any more Jaffa, I'm going to give you enough so that you're nice and loopy." 

Jack's smile was an evil thing, sometimes, Vin was learning. Aw hell. He wouldn't win this argument with Jack any more than he would win it with Chris. 

Jack pulled out the med kit and gave Vin that evil smile again. Vin sighed and settled back to the ground, shifting so Jack could give him the shots. After the first two, Vin rolled away, but Jack stopped him and gave him a third.

The colonel went back to organizing their gear and Vin rolled over on his back to watch the sky some more. He got caught up in the sun filtering through the leaves, making pretty patterns when it finally reached the forrest floor. He followed the beams of light with his eyes, smiling when he noticed some flowers pushing through the ground cover, glowing in the bright light. All living things seemed to have a knack for finding a spot to grow. Even if they had to fight to do it.

Jack cleared his throat, startling Vin. He shook his head and turned to see what he wanted.

"Nice show?" Jack asked, that evil smile on his face again.

"Hmmmm?"

"Let's go, up and at 'em," Jack said, extending his hand. "Keep all your weight on your left leg. You're not feeling any pain right now and you could really do some damage."

Vin giggled, tried to stop it, but couldn't. "That horse done left the barn, Colonel, kind of late to be closin the door," he finally managed to say.

Jack shook his head and turned around, squatting. "Climb up, you're getting a ride to the hover-car."

"The what?" Vin asked once he was settled onto the colonel's back.

"Wait until you see it," Jack said, once they started moving. "I gotta figure out some way to get the general to let me keep it."

Vin let his head drop onto Jack's shoulder, listening to him drone on about the vehicle he'd found. He was nearly asleep when Jack stopped and Vin almost tumbled off his back, but the colonel leaned forward so Vin wouldn't fall off. He felt himself getting lowered to the ground but he couldn't seem to help. It was almost like he'd drunk a whole bottle of rotgut all by himself. He wasn't used to feeling so out of sorts; he couldn't even enjoy the pleasant floaty feeling.

"You with me, Tanner?" Jack called, breaking through the fog Vin floated in. 

Vin nodded and tried to pay attention to what Jack told him about the vehicle, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get home. Even Jack's excitement couldn't get him to care.

The ride was smooth and Vin tried to pay attention. Now he really was floating above the ground, not just feeling like he was; didn't that just beat all. He knew if he could care about anything right now, he'd be just as excited as Jack. He tried to speak a couple of times, but his tongue was so thick. "Let me drive?" he finally asked.

Jack laughed loud enough to startle Vin and Vin laughed too, even though he didn't know what he was laughing at.

"Friends don't let friends hovercraft stoned, Vin," Jack said, laughing some more.

"I don't know what you just said," Vin said as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

They rode in silence for a time until a muttered, "What the hell!" from Jack had Vin fighting to open his eyes again. They stopped, that much he could tell. He tried to look around and get his bearings. He was pretty sure they were on the far side of the city, closest to the gate. 

He struggled to sit straighter, to find the do-dad that would open his door but a barked, "Stay there!" from Jack made him follow the order without question.

It seemed like forever before Jack returned. Vin managed to track him as he rifled through their pack, looking for something. Jack snagged the blankets and slammed the door to go back to whatever he'd found.

Jack finally returned to the vehicle and the look on his face made Vin bite back his questions. He settled back into his seat as Jack got the vehicle moving again, all his earlier lightheartedness completely gone.

A short time later Vin felt the car coming to a stop and he tried to open his eyes but they wouldn't cooperate. Jack heaved a long sigh and Vin kept his questions to himself.

"Tanner? You awake?"

Vin managed a nod.

"I'm going to call home. Stay here until I come back for you, and that's a goddamned order."

Vin nodded again. Whatever bee was in Jack's bonnet wouldn't go away and Vin figured he could stay put without any kind of argument.

A few minutes later and the door opening signaled Jack's return. Vin finally managed to get his eyes open a little. Jack didn't get in the vehicle, just stood in the door, his arms resting on the roof as he peered in.

"They're getting ready for us," Jack told him and Vin managed a nod in return. "Back there, when we stopped..."

Vin kept his eyes on Jack, but kept his mouth shut, knowing he'd soon find out what pissed off O'Neill so badly.

"It was SG2. They were dead, but not for very long. If we came straight through the city, we'd have found them alive."

Vin let his eyes slip closed. There wasn't anything he could say that would help at all. He heard Jack sigh again, felt his pain. If those were his friends laying there dead, he'd be the same way. 

He braced himself to be moved again as Jack opened his door. He kept his mouth shut and concentrated on taking some of his own weight. All he had to do was get up some stairs and make it to that wall of water. 

With Jack's help, he managed the stairs without so much as a wince. He was suddenly grateful for the pain, it meant he was alive.

He nearly fell when they arrived in the gateroom but Jack held him up, kept him moving. He felt someone watching him and when he looked up, there was Chris, watching from behind the glass. Relief washed over Vin in a tidal wave and he nodded to Chris, who nodded back. It didn't take long to settle him in the little glass room on wheels and as soon as he was lying down, he closed his eyes. He was home, whatever that meant these days. Hell, he knew what it meant. It meant Chris Larabee standing sentry, waiting for him. Five other men were sure to be keeping vigil as well and Vin thought he just might be the luckiest man alive.

 

**********

 

Listening to Vin tell his story, particularly the part about being the luckiest man alive brought a lump to Chris' throat and he fought it down. 

Just about to start in on his own story of his adventure with Buck and Daniel, the door opened. He caught a glimpse of Vin about to say something as Buck stormed into the room.

"You two all done eating and catching up?" Buck asked. The man could fill a room, that was for sure.

"Hey, Bucklin," Vin called as he sat higher on the bed.

"Buck," Chris drawled.

"Did I miss anything?" Buck asked as he sat backward on the chair Chris kicked out to him.

"Just Vin's little misadventure on that planet," Chris said as he watched Buck lean forward on the chair to get a good look at Vin.

"That thing ain't any easier to look at now than it was earlier," Buck said.

"Hey!"

"Aw, Vin, that thing on your leg. Hell, you're pretty as you always are. Especially in that gown," Buck's smile went wide as realization dawned that he could tease Vin as much as he wanted without fear of retaliation. 

"I'm not going to be locked in this room forever, you know."

Chris decided having Buck around to tell Vin the tale of their own adventure would be a good thing. Buck could take a person's mind off of anything, Chris knew that firsthand. 

"I was just about to tell Vin about our trip down to New Mexico, Buck. We got some time to kill and Vin's bored."

"You know, Vin, my ma used to say that bored people are often boring."

"Probably when you were annoying the hell out of her," Vin mumbled and Chris started laughing. Maybe Vin wasn't quite in the clear just yet, but so far he'd shown no signs of getting sick and telling stories with Buck was about the most normal thing he could think of.

"You should have seen it, Vin..." Buck started to say and Chris leaned back in his chair and listened. Buck was a better story teller than Chris was anyway. Let him tell it.

*****

Chris charged through the hallways, taking long steps and watching as SF's as well as other personnel cleared a path. He'd just gotten word that he could see Vin again in one of the isolation rooms of the infirmary, and he wasn't wasting a single second. Though he wouldn't have good news to share with him, he had to see Vin with his own eyes. So far, Vin had shown absolutely no signs of becoming sick, but Chris needed to see that for himself. 

Miraculous, Dr. Fraiser had said, considering his own exposure was far greater than O'Neill's. Chris was still terrified that Vin would suddenly start to have symptoms, even though the doctor had said that if he was going to, he most likely would have by now.

They hadn't told Vin about Jack yet, had simply ushered Chris and Buck out of the little room where they'd been talking to Vin through that window early this morning, and begun more of their tests. One of the nurses told Chris that they hadn't planned on telling Vin yet, because they didn't want his anxiety to effect his tests. They needed stuff like his heartrate to be as they would if he didn't have additional stress. They had to know it the second he showed genuine symptoms, if it were to happen.

Chris had tried to see Vin again later in the morning, again at lunch, and again after he'd made something of an effort at eating dinner. Each time, he'd been turned away, medical personnel saying they needed access to Vin without the distraction of visitors. By eight that evening, Chris had been fuming. Vin had to have figured out something was going on, and he'd have been alone in the worry he was bound to be feeling over it.

Chris had finally gone to Hammond. He'd told him that if those doctors couldn't work on their cure for Jack with a visitor or two on the other side of that glass, then they couldn't be all that good at doctoring anyway. Besides that, Vin's first experience in this place had been the unwanted intrusion of their medical staff. If Vin was anxious, or heaven forbid getting sick the way Jack was, Chris would be damned before he'd let them subject him to their doctoring without him there to help Vin through it. Vin's first experience at the SGC had been the torment of their medical staff; he wouldn't let it be Vin's last. 

He also told Hammond that he wanted to tell Vin about Jack. Vin wouldn't appreciate having that kept from him for so long, and Chris wanted to be the one to tell him, to be there for him when he heard. Vin would take it hard, Chris knew.

Half an hour after his talk with Hammond, Chris had gotten a call from the infirmary that he could go back to the isolation observation room. And now, he was just rounding the corner; almost there.

He yanked open the door to find Major Carter and Dr. Warner already there. His eyes jerked from them, to Vin, in the isolation room, where he sat on his bed, one knee drawn to his chest, his busted leg stretched out before him, his body shaking.

"What the hell?" Chris muttered, his voice tight with worry.

"Didn't work," Vin croaked, the sound of his voice carrying through those boxes-- speakers on the wall.

"What didn't work?"

"The antidote we synthesized using the blood samples we took from Mr. Tanner," Warner answered.

"You told him?" Chris asked through a clenched jaw.

Carter winced, but Warner's attention was riveted on Vin.

"Mr. Larabee, a few hours ago, he began to suspect something was wrong-- more than what was already wrong, anyway. Dr. Fraiser told Vin about the Colonel, since we'd gotten an antidote ready. We were so sure it would work... But from the Colonel's condition, and his blood tests, though, we can tell now that it isn't," Carter explained.

Chris seethed, and began pacing the small room. After a few short turns, he stopped, and settled a hand on Warner's arm to turn him around. Chris looked from Warner to Carter, then asked them both, "Are you doing anything useful in here? I mean, is there a reason for you to be here, in this room, right this minute?"

They both looked startled, and Carter's eyes grew wide. "I guess that's our invitation to leave."

"Damn right, it is. You've put him through enough today. Get out."

Chris moved closer to the glass, then, only seeing out of the corner of his eye when Carter tugged on Warner's sleeve, to pull him out of the room.

Chris sat heavily in the chair in front of the glass. "I'm sorry, Vin."

Vin looked up at him, then, and Chris' heart squeezed. He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, his face haggard. "I thought we was through the worst," Vin whispered harshly.

"I know. I wish there was something I could do."

Vin gave him a weak smile, but his eyes were bright and something akin to relief washed over his face. "You're here."

Chris' throat constricted. He should've gone to Hammond sooner.

"What's the latest you heard about the Colonel?" Vin finally asked.

Chris sighed hard. "That he's slowly getting worse. He's getting weaker, can't eat, getting harder to even take water-- hurts to swallow it."

Vin shook his head, then bowed it again, against his knee.

"Vin, it's not your fault," Chris said, afraid Vin would be shouldering too much of this burden.

"I ain't so sure about that, cowboy. And I don't understand why it's him and not me."

"Vin, don't. Don't do this to yourself. You did what you had to do, and it don't do him any good to be thinking like that."

Vin barked a humorless laugh that made Chris cringe. "Ain't what the docs are saying. They done told me they don't understand, either, why Jack and not me. 'Specially since he probably got it from me. You saw it, he had to haul my ass back through the gate, and I had that dead warrior's blood all over me. Ain't any surprise they're wondering why him and not me."

Chris had the sudden thought that Daniel might not be so angry with him if he only winged the medical staff instead of aiming to kill. But he'd have to think about murder later. Right now he had to do what he could for Vin. "That's only because they can find a cure by figuring out why he's sick and you're not."

"He's right, Vin," a soft voice added, making Chris spin around in his chair.

Dr. Fraiser closed the door behind her and moved up to the glass, next to Chris.

"I'm sorry," she added, looking at Chris and then Vin. "We haven't handled this well, in several ways. It's just... we're all worried about Colonel O'Neill, and..."

"It's all right," Vin interjected softly. "You're doing the best you can." Vin hung his head again, and Chris thought his heart was going to break.

"We're not giving up, but we're running out of time. By all our estimates, we have approximately twelve hours to find a way to fight this, or the Colonel isn't going to make it," Fraiser said, her own voice sounding strained.

Chris knew he could be damned cold, but he had to admit to himself that these people fought hard for their own, and they'd be fighting just as hard if Vin were the one who'd gotten sick and not Jack. He was still angry at them for how they went about it, but for a spell, he'd put it behind him. His anger wouldn't help Jack any more than Vin's self-blame for Jack's illness would.

Vin untangled himself from the edge of the bed, hobbled over-- despite Fraiser's winces and soft admonishments to take it easy-- then hauled himself up on the cabinet in front of the window, so he could be closer to Chris and Fraiser. "There's got to be some way to use me to figure this out," Vin said once he was settled in front of them.

Fraiser ducked her head briefly, sighing softly. "I'm out of ideas. I was hoping we could talk a little about this together, maybe spark a new idea."

Vin shook his head. "Don't know what it is that I might spark, but I'm willin' to try."

Fraiser smiled sadly, but there was gratitude in it. "All right... we know that there is something in your body that's... protecting you... from this illness. You carry the illness within you, but your body has been able to fight it off. Each test we've taken, there has been less and less of this virus detected."

Vin looked thoughtful. "And you can't tell from looking at my blood in your machines what it is that's doing that?"

"No, we can't. There are literally millions of things going on in your blood, all at the same time, and millions of things that cause all that to happen. It could take us years to narrow it down. We thought we were close earlier tonight, but obviously we were mistaken."

Vin looked confused again, as was Chris. "Dr. Fraiser, does this have anything to do with us having been frozen in time?" Chris asked. If that were the case, he could understand one of the reasons those NID people might be wanting to get their hands on them.

"This is where it gets complicated. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with you seven having been in stasis. We tested blood samples that we already had in storage from all of you, and the six of you would have gotten ill, had you been exposed. There is something different about Vin in particular, I believe. It's what we call genetics. It's things about you that you inherited from your parents, and from their parents, and so on." 

"So you need to know what I got from my folks?" Vin asked, looking as skeptical as Chris was.

"I need to know what's different about your genetics than everyone else's, yes," Fraiser answered.

"How do we figure that out?" 

"Well, we talk about your family-- your mother, father, and their parents; where they were from, where they lived..."

Chris' heart sunk, and he could tell Vin's did, too. "Can't tell you hardly nothin' about my ma. She died when I was five. Don't even know the name she had before she married my pa. All I remember is brown hair, and that she was skinny."

Chris didn't miss the disappointment on Fraiser's face. Just then, the door opened and Carter popped her head in. "Sorry to interrupt. Janet, Vin's clothes and things came back from the lab. They're clean. We even tested the old herbs in that Indian pouch, but it didn't have any effect on the virus."

"Medicine bundle only works on the person it was meant for," Vin said softly, though his mind seemed to be somewhere else.

"Medicine bundle?" Carter repeated, her head cocked.

Vin looked up, and seemed to come out of his fog a little bit. "Chief's son give it to me, for helping him out of a tight spot. Said the magic would protect me from demons. Did a pretty good job all these years, I reckon."

Carter looked at Janet. "Could prolonged exposure to certain herbs do something to--"

"No. If the herbs themselves could combat it, it would have shown on the tests."

Vin snorted softly. "Ain't nothin' but dried weed in them things anyway. Don't matter what you put in it. It's supposed to be the magic put on it that's important. Hell, the one my grandfather give me didn't hold nothin' but dried sagebrush, but I believed in it till I was about ten."

"You grew up with the Native American culture?" Fraiser asked, looking more serious than curious.

"For a time. Till some white folks decided I's better off at some orphanage than with my kin," Vin answered.

Chris watched as interest-- and hope-- lit up on Carter's and Fraiser's faces. "Vin, do you have a Native American ancestry?" Fraiser asked.

Vin looked to him, then back at Fraiser. "If you're askin what I think you're askin, my grandfather was half Comanche. Makes me one-eigth."

"Is this helping with that genetics stuff?" Chris asked, seeing even more of that hope dawn on Fraiser's face.

"I think it might, actually," Fraiser said. "I'm going to call the genetics team," she added, heading for the telephone on the wall.

Fraiser turned her back to them as she spoke, making Chris even more antsy. He looked at Carter, ready to grill the only person around who was likely to have answers. "What can you tell us about this genetics stuff."

For a second, Carter looked as though she didn't have a clue herself, but then Chris realized that of course she knew. Her problem was finding a way to say it so that he and Vin would understand it. It irked Chris to realize these people had to talk down to them, and he kept the thought in his head that he'd do his damndest to correct that.

"Well," Carter finally said. "We all carry traits that have been passed down from previous generations in our families. Some of these traits we can see, such as the tendency to have dark hair or light, or the tendency to be taller or shorter. Some traits you can't see, but they're a part of us anyway. Such as the tendency to have allergies."

Carter was interrupted when Fraiser hung up the telephone and turned back to them with a renewed energy that Chris swore he could feel even from a couple feet away.

She turned to Vin, eyes bright and focused. "Vin, your grandfather was half Comanche, you said?"

Vin glanced at Chris quickly, looking like he was afraid to pin any hopes on this, but unable to stop himself. "That's right. His ma was full-blood Comanche."

"Janet, you think this could be it?" Carter asked as Fraiser began flipping through the pages of her clipboard.

She looked up then, glancing at all of them. "The genetics team thinks it's possible. The Hazmat team reports have all indicated that the victims on that planet were of various ethnic background. There's a list of them right here; there were various European descendents, Asian, Middle Eastern, and a few African, among others. There isn't even remotely a Native American representation listed at all."

"Right," Carter said, her face showing fierce concentration. "Linea engineered a virus that she thought would effect one-hundred percent of a human population. It worked on that planet, but they were missing a small portion of what represents Earth's population-- a portion that could have significant differences in their gene sequences."

Fraiser nodded, obviously Carter was on the right track. "Dr. Kelley said that there could be a link with the recent Scleroderma genetic discoveries."

"Scer what?" Chris asked, confused but finding their optimism contagious.

"Scleroderma. It's a disorder that causes skin and tissues to harden. It's recently been found to be prevalent in those with a Native American ancestry. People of this ancestry have a particular gene-- something inside of them that makes up the cells of their body-- that makes them more likely to get this disorder. One thing this virus of Linea's does, is cause tissues-- skin inside of your body-- to weaken."

Chris was lost, and from the expression on Vin's face, he was too.

Carter took a look at them and tried to explain. "The gene that can cause this Scleroderma might actually be able to fight this disease of Linea's. The gene causes one thing to happen to skin, but this plague causes something else to happen to skin-- and those things are opposite."

Chris looked to Vin, finding him investigating the skin on his arms. Dr. Fraiser spoke before he could, though. "Don't worry, Vin. Just because you carry the gene that causes that disorder doesn't mean you'll get it. It just means you're a little more likely to get it or to pass it on to your children than people who don't have that gene. But because you do have it, it might be why your body was able to fight off the illness. Colonel O'Neill doesn't have a drop of Native American blood. Nobody on that planet did, except for you."

"Can't you give Jack my genes?" Vin asked, voice tight.

Fraiser gave Vin a sympathetic smile. "Not exactly. It doesn't work like that. But we might be able to use them to make an antidote that we *can* give him."

Vin's face fell. "That last antidote didn't work so good."

"But this time," Carter said, "We'll have a better idea of what... ingredients... to put in it."

"How soon will you know?" Chris asked as Carter and Fraiser headed for the door.

Fraiser turned, still moving, though, "We should have another antidote ready in a couple of hours. We'll let you know," she said, her expression making it a promise.

Chris blew out a sigh and settled in the chair across from Vin again. "You all right?"

Vin shook his head. "I don't know that anything's all right."

"That guilt's gonna eat you alive, if you let it."

Vin turned worried eyes his way. "If they don't get this antidote right, Jack's gonna die. There's something wrong with me, if I don't feel guilty for that."

Chris leaned closer to the glass. "Vin, I already told you. You did what you had to do. I don't want Jack to die any more than you do. But you both took the risk. You both knew what you were doing when you walked through the gate to that planet."

Vin shook his head. "You weren't there, you didn't see it. I wasn't thinking about blood and viruses or my grandfather's skin. That Jaffa warrior was there, and I stopped him. But maybe... maybe if I hadn't been so..." Vin paused, took a deep breath, and then finished softly. "Maybe there was another way, is all. A way that wouldn't have gotten his blood all over Jack."

Chris let out a long breath of his own, then answered. "I won't lie to you, Vin. There's always another way. Always a chance to look back and wish you could change things, and to beat yourself up because you can't."

Vin gave him a narrow-eyed glare. "Yer supposed to be talkin positive."

Chris arched an eyebrow. "Oh, am I?"

"That's the way it works. When one of us is tore up, the other one says stuff to git our minds off it, or make the other one feel better."

Chris chuckled, he couldn't help it. "Vin, you pick the strangest times to get sentimental."

Vin ducked his head, but Chris could see the grin tugging on his lips anyway, and it made Chris grin, too. He knew Vin had just cleverly distracted him. But as long as Chris got a smile out of him in the process, that was fine. While Vin had less tendency to keep things to himself than Chris did, even Vin only let so much out at once. Besides, Vin would have plenty of time later to play games at guilt. 

The grin was fleeting, though. When Vin lifted his head, the worry was back. "They're gonna keep me in here for a while. First they gotta make sure I don't have that virus in my blood anymore, then they gotta wait a spell, make sure it don't come back, somehow."

"I'll be here as much as they let me," Chris said.

"I know."

They sat in silence for a long moment, then Vin sighed softly and leaned his head against the glass. Chris couldn't help himself; he brushed his fingers over the glass on his side, wishing he could reach through and tug on one of the unruly curls just on the other side. As if sensing what Chris wanted, Vin raised a hand and pressed it flat, so Chris put his own hand in the same spot on his side.

He wanted to tell Vin that it would be all right. But he'd already told Vin he wouldn't lie to him, and Chris just didn't know how it would turn out. He believed Vin would come out of it without getting sick, but if Jack didn't make it, Vin wouldn't be the same again.

******

A hot shower had nearly drained him of all the energy he had left but Chris figured he could sleep in the observation room if he could get Vin settled. Vin was probably going stir crazy about now but he had another twelve hours before he'd be released from quarantine. 

He was fine, Chris reminded himself. The medical team needed to be sure anyone coming in contact with him would be fine, too. His blood test the night before was the first to come back clean. Twenty four hours later and the tests were still clean. While Chris itched for Vin to be released, releasing him too soon would be foolish at best, deadly at worst.

He took a deep breath before opening the door. He was being tested, by who, he didn't know or care, but his patience was reaching its limits. He was down to his last reserve and going in there and trying to keep Vin occupied wasn't going to be easy. He'd walked out a few hours before, tired of watching Vin swing around the room on those crutches. He moved faster than a man ought to be able on those things and it was driving Chris round the bend, watching him pace from one end of the room to the other. He hadn't said a word when Dr. Warner lectured Vin about letting the bones knit back together, how important it was to keep them stable-- what did he think the damn wires were for? He sat smirking while Vin got his lecture. Chris was proud of himself for the restraint he'd shown in not lecturing Vin himself. He was ready to strap on one of those bubble suits and go in there and tie Vin to the bed. For a man who was so still when it suited him, why did he have such a hard time lying in a bed when he needed to? 

Six days was a long time to be cooped up in a sixteen by sixteen room and Chris figured he ought to be a little more understanding-- well he figured that when Vin wasn't trouncing on his very last nerve, anyway.

He heard voices behind the door and wondered who would be visiting this late at night. So much for curling up on his cot and going to sleep. He pushed open the door with more force than he'd intended, coming face to feet with Buck. What the hell?

"Hey, pard," Buck greeted, dropping down to all fours. He staggered a little as he got up on his feet, shaking the redness from his face.

"Buck?"

Buck gestured to the other side of the room, to where Josiah, Nathan and Ezra sat semi-circle around the window. Vin sat on the cabinet on the other side, peering through the glass, a big smile on his face. 

Chris nodded to him before inspecting the room. Beer bottles littered every surface and Chris set his sights on Buck. "Having a party?"

"Pull up a chair, Chris," Josiah offered but Chris took a spot leaning against the wall. "We were just filling Vin in on what he's been missing."

"Whole lot of nothin, sounds like," Vin said.

"And I just won ten dollars from Ezra. He didn't think I could walk on my hands, but I showed him," Buck said as he crashed backward against the wall, obviously still addled from all his blood flooding his brains-- a place Buck's blood wasn't used to being.

Nathan leaned closer to the glass and motioned to Vin. "Lift that leg up again, Vin. I want to see just how them wires are set. Can you turn them screws?"

"Don't!" Chris ordered. "I heard the doc tell you not to touch that thing. He said he'd adjust it, not you."

"I asked if he could turn them, I didn't tell him to turn them," Nathan said, turning on Chris.

"Nathan only wants to learn, pard," Buck said, clapping his arm across Chris' shoulders. 

"You all been here long?" Chris asked, finally taking a seat and settling into it, giving up on his hopes of a quiet night. He'd had too many of those lately anyway.

"Mr. Tanner called the saloon and said he might have unwittingly chased you away. He begged us to come keep him company and we were happy to oblige. Unfortunately for Mr. Tanner, the guard to his room was not amenable to the offer I made him. We are drinking his share since we cannot deliver it to him." Ezra held out a bottle of beer to Chris and Chris took it.

"Weren't no begging involved, Ezra!" Vin said, slapping the glass in front of where Ezra sat. "I just asked if y'all were bored, is all."

"I distinctly heard begging," Ezra declared.

Vin got up on his knees on the cabinet, getting higher so he could look Ezra in the eye.

"Enough!" Chris said. "Vin, you fall off of there and I figure you'll be stuck in the infirmary awhile longer."

Buck plopped into the chair next to Chris and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Chris, you sure you want to be here? We'll keep Vin busy. Ain't like we got anything else to do. You're sounding a bit uptight pard, maybe a good night's sleep would help."

"Buck," Chris warned, shaking Buck's arm off.

"Fine, fine, I'm only trying to be helpful," Buck said, shaking his head sadly at Chris.

Buck leaned back, sprawled comfortably in his chair, and entertained them all with stories of the women in the complex. He had them all laughing with his exploits, especially his attempts to become more friendly with Major Carter. 

Listening to Buck prattle on about women was making Chris nostalgic. Sitting around like this felt to normal, so right, it made him disoriented. He tried to shake it off, but as the minutes went on, he almost felt like he belonged here and that was the most unsettling part of it all.

He was almost ready to light out of there and get some space when the door opened and JD and Dr. Jackson stepped inside.

Greetings called out, the two men squeezed into the crowded room.

"Where 'ya been, JD?" Buck asked, tossing the kid a beer. He offered one to Daniel, but Daniel shook his head.

"I went to Dr. Fraiser's house for dinner then stayed and watched a movie with Cassandra. Dr. Jackson couldn't come pick me up till now. Guess you didn't miss me, Buck. I've been gone all day and you're just noticing!"

"What the hell you got on your head?" Buck asked, loudly, grabbing for the strange hat perched on JD's head.

"It's a baseball cap. Cassandra got it for me. Keep you big hands off it!" JD squeaked as he ducked out of the way of Buck's reach.

Daniel leaned forward so he could see Vin and gave a little wave. "I'm going to sit with Jack, Vin. I wanted to see how you were before I went in there."

The men immediately sobered and Chris sat straighter in his chair, waiting for Daniel to share a little more information on the Colonel.

"How's he doin'?" Vin asked before Daniel could tell them.

"Better. He hasn't really been conscious yet, but he's doing much better. His blood work has been clean longer than yours, so Dr. Fraiser said I could go in tonight."

"I thought he'd be up and around by now, them blood tests coming back good and all," Vin said and Chris wished there wasn't a wall between them. He itched to be close enough to touch Vin; touch always worked better than words for the two of them.

"Well," Daniel said, taking his time thinking about what he would say. "It was a close call. It's going to take his body some time to recover. He is improving, though."

Vin nodded and Daniel turned to wave to everyone.

"If he wakes up, tell him I'll be there as soon as I can," Vin said as Daniel was about to walk out the door.

When the door closed behind Daniel, the mood remained quietly somber. It had been a close call and not just for Jack. Chris didn't doubt it was the real reason all six of them were squeezed into this tiny room.

Josiah stood and offered Chris his chair. Chris didn't hesitate to get closer to the glass and to Vin. He finished his beer and held out his hand silently or another.

It was too quiet in there, by far, but Chris didn't have anything to say. He drained half his beer in one swallow, then held it up to Vin, teasing him a little.

"I almost forgot!" JD shouted, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He lifted the bag he held. "Wait until you see this," he said, a little quieter. Buck reached out to take the bag from him, but JD swung it out of his reach.

"What do ya got there, boy?" Buck boomed out, long arms trying to reach the bag.

"Dr. Jackson gave me a list of books that have us in 'em and Cassandra ordered this one off something called the internet. Wait until you hear this!" JD said, pulling a hard covered book out of his bag. 

He held it up for all to see, even swinging it around so Vin could get a look. 

"It's from a series-- this one's called "Cowboys, Outlaws and Gunslingers, a Time Life History of the American West."

"Quite a mouthful there, JD," Josiah said as he leaned forward to see the book better.

"We're in there?" Buck asked, craning his neck to see the pages as JD rifled through them, looking for something.

"Well, sort of," JD said as he found the page he was looking for. "I'll read it to you so we can all hear it at once". JD stepped closer to the speakers and cleared his throat. "This entry is under Chris' name. They got Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp and a whole lot of people. Most of them have pages and pages, but Chris' is only half a page."

 

Chris Larabee was a gunslinger of minor notoriety in the post civil-war southwest. He was known for his quick gun and short temper. Larabee's legend was more folklore than deed, however, as only four actual gunfights can be confirmed. 

Larabee was born in Chicago, the eldest of four sons born to Patrick and Bridget Larabee. They were a prosperous merchant family, second-generation Irish Americans. Their family store was later bought out by Sears and Roebuck, earning a sizable fortune for Cyril Larabee, the youngest and only surviving Larabee brother.

Chris Larabee was an adventurous boy, by all accounts, and the family mercantile would prove to be too sedate for him. Larabee left the family business at fifteen to live with his mother's family in Indiana. He returned to attend Northwestern University, at his father's urging, earning a degree in accounting. Records and transcripts also show that Larabee had a high level of interest in the abacus.

The civil war broke out about the time Larabee finished his schooling and he joined the Illinois third Calvary as a Lieutenant. By war's end, he was a captain. Two of his brothers were killed in the war and Larabee never returned to Illinois. 

He headed west instead, though there is no information about him until reports of a tragedy that took the lives of his wife and young son. Larabee entered a dark period following their deaths, all of his gunfights taking place during this time. He was known for dressing in black from head to toe, nerves of steel, his quick draw, and his short temper.

He teamed up with six other men, Larabee's gang becoming regulators for a small town in southern New Mexico. What Chris Larabee will forever be remembered for, however, is not his skill with a gun, but one of the great mysteries of the American West. 

Larabee's gang vanished off the face of the earth, no trace of them ever to be found. They were last seen about twenty miles south of present-day Roswell, on the trail of a band of bank robbers who'd struck in their town. No clues to their fate have ever surfaced, but their strange disappearance is the basis for the local legends of ghosts in the area.

 

Utter silence. Complete and utter silence met Chris as he glanced around the room. He'd been blind-sided when JD started reading. How the fuck had he ended up in a history book? Minor? He was a minor character?

Loud guffawing from Buck shattered the silence. The others joined in and Chris tried staring them down. Long minutes of raucous laughter and Chris quit even trying. He'd just have to live with their ridicule for awhile.

"Chris...," Buck choked out through loud belly laughs. "Chris... he..." Buck held up his hand, trying to get everyone's attention. "He's a bean counter!" Buck fell off his chair, still laughing.

In fact, they were all still laughing. Chris tried glaring at them again, each in turn, but it still wasn't doing a damn bit of good. Nathan had tears in his eyes, he was laughing so hard, as did JD and Buck. Josiah's teeth were all he could see, something Chris wouldn't enjoy under any circumstances. Damn. So much for eyeballing them into submission. He'd never live this down, he just knew it.

Hell, even Vin'd turned on him. Vin's face in his hands, his shoulders shook with uncontrollable laughter. He'd deal with him later, Chris decided, feeling his jaw twitch. 

The only one not out of control, Ezra, looked at him with a bemused-- and entirely unintimidated-- little smile firmly in place. "My dear Mr. Larabee," he said loud enough to be heard over the din, "We all knew you were hiding unsavory events from your past, but I for one, suspected nothing of this magnitude!" And then Ezra lost it too.

He'd let them laugh. But he wouldn't forget, oh no, he wouldn't. 

"At least my name is in there. You all are just my gang," Chris finally said when they were all wiping the tears from their eyes. "And I never used my schooling," he said, finally joining in on the laughter, despite himself. Hell, what did he care if they knew what he got up to in another life. 

They drank the rest of the beer, Ezra and Buck still laughing occasionally when they dared to look his way. Before too much longer, though, they began to file out of the room, leaving him and Vin alone.

"I shoulda known," Vin said, as he started pacing the room again. He nearly fell over when a fit of laughter took him again.

"Care to share what's so funny?" Chris asked as he stripped out of his clothes.

"You. Glaring numbers into submission. Woulda loved to have seen that."

"I'll be sure to do some addition for your amusement," Chris said as he settled onto his cot. He watched Vin pace some more. Strapping on that bubble suit was looking to be his best option.

"Vin, go to bed," he said when he couldn't take it any more.

"Not tired. How the hell can I be tired, I ain't done anything but sleep for days."

"You make it until tomorrow and I'll make you plenty tired."

"Promise?" Vin asked, grin wicked again as he did another circuit of the room.

"Definitely," Chris said. "Least you aren't complaining about being stuck in there." 

"I ain't that selfish, Chris. I'd hate to see anyone else get sick because of me."

Chris held in a sigh. He hadn't meant that. Vin had only complained o being bored, not about being locked up and Chris knew full well why Vin hadn't complained. He never thought for a moment that Vin would want to infect anyone else.

"Still isn't your fault Jack got sick."

Vin stopped pacing and stared at him for a minute, though Chris didn't know what Vin wanted to see. All Chris could do was stare back, and hope Vin knew that he believed in him. At last, Vin nodded, looking at least a little mollified, and made one more trip around the room before getting settled into his bed. "I might have wore myself out enough to sleep now. You think they'll let me see Jack tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"I'm glad Daniel's with him. At least he'll wake up to a friendly face after going through all that sickness."

Chris didn't reply to that, was sure Vin didn't expect him to. He just nodded as he got his blankets settled, both of them having acknowledged in their own way what it meant to them that Chris had been Vin's friendly face throughout all this. 

Vin turned of his light and Chris reached for his. Just as he turned it off, he was sure he heard chuckling coming through the speakers.

"Bean counter."

Chris sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He was going to get Daniel back, somehow, for telling JD about that book. Daniel could damn well count on it. 

*****  
The edges of his vision were black, and when Jack managed to pry his eyes open, it was like looking into a pipe, where all you could see, seemed to be distant and at the center of a circle that was surrounded by darkness. The freaky thing, though, was the flurry of space-suit heads staring back down at him from that circle, in those times he did get his eyes open. Sometimes, he thought he could see faces behind the glass-bubble masks, but it didn't make it less spooky.

Every cell in his body hurt, and he couldn't remember the last time he was able to swallow even a sip of water. He vaguely remembered the IV's being poked into his arms, so he knew he was being hydrated that way, but it didn't slake the thirst in his burning throat.

He lost track of the times he'd woken, though he knew they were many. A lot of them were probably brief. At one point, he thought he was awake, because when his eyes opened, he saw Daniel sitting next to him, looking at him with the same concern on his face that he wore when Fraiser confirmed that he'd contracted Linnea's plague. But he had to have been dreaming, because no way would Daniel be in there with him and not be wearing one of those suits with the bubble head. They wouldn't risk Daniel contracting this thing, too.

But, if it was just a dream, at least it was a comforting one.

Jack had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that the pain was receding. He felt like lead all over, even in his eyelids, which were refusing his commands to lift. Finally, he managed to order them open. 

Ouch. The lights were too bright. His eyelids fell shut again. It took monumental effort, but he managed to turn his head to the side, thinking that it would cut down on the glare. Again, he ordered his eyes to open, and this time it took just a little less work. Took a second to focus, but something finally came into view.

Daniel's head rested on the bed, near Jack's waist, his glasses knocked crooked on his face. He'd scooted his chair close, and dropped the rails on that side, so he could reach easier. Nice. Although, if last time was a dream, maybe this time was, too, Jack thought. 

His hand rested on his stomach, and although it didn't look too far from Daniel's head, the effort to move it was extreme. But he did, and gradually Jack's hand did slide over from his stomach to the top of Daniel's head. Jack's fingers curled weakly into Daniel's hair. He had the strange, lazy thought that he needed to ask Daniel what brand of conditioner he used. But, conditioner or not, Jack now felt pretty certain that this was real. Daniel was here with him, without a hazmat suit, and Jack didn't feel as though he had a million acid-dipped needles poking into every pore of his body. 

Daniel's eyes fluttered open, and Jack felt as though he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He didn't remotely have the strength to snatch that hand away, though. Daniel's gaze focused on him, and realizing Jack was awake, he sat up quickly. The movement was so sudden that Jack's hand just flopped uselessly back to the bed, but not before dislodging Daniel's glasses with one, errant finger.

The juggling Daniel did to keep them from falling to the floor was almost as amusing as the little smudge of dried drool at the corner of Daniel's mouth. Jack was exhausted, but not so much that he couldn't manage a grin.

"Hi Jack," Daniel finally managed, once his glasses were perched on his face again.

"Daniel." Scratchy and hoarse, the sound was horrible, even to Jack's own ears, and he saw Daniel wince.

"Water?" Daniel asked, eyebrows climbing high on his forehead.

Jack nodded despite his headache, and Daniel poured a glass. Took a little maneuvering on Daniel's part to get the head of the bed raised more, but finally it was, and Daniel held the glass in front of Jack's face, straw conveniently at Jack's lips. All he had to do was open, and start sipping.

It was just plain water, but that first sip couldn't have been cooler or sweeter. It went down with minimal pain to Jack's throat, too. 

Once he'd swallowed, more of the fog in Jack's mind began to lift, and a wave of panic rippled through him. He was forgetting something... something important... then it hit him. "Vin?" Jack rasped.

Daniel's hand on his arm calmed him as much as his relaxed expression and his reply. "He's fine, Jack."

Jack sighed in relief. 

"Actually," Daniel added, "Vin never even got sick."

Jack rolled his eyes. Figured. "Lucky little shit," he grumbled softly.

Daniel flashed him one of his quick, bright smiles. "You could say that. You're pretty lucky, too, though. It was Vin's immunity to the disease that led Janet to your cure."

"Really cured?" Jack asked, needing to know that this wasn't just some kind of temporary respite.

Daniel's smile was softer this time. "You're really cured. You just need time for your body to recover. The virus itself has already been killed off in your system. All you need now, is rest and a little time. It's all over."

Jack sank back into his pillow, relieved. It was all over. Nothing to worry about until the next life-endangering mission came up on the schedule. Jack could live with that.

******

Finally, Vin was out of the infirmary, and they were away from the watchful eyes of the SGC medical personnel. Wasn't a minute too soon, as far as Chris was concerned. Didn't know if he wanted to strangle Vin, or just squeeze the life out of him, now that he had him alone in their quarters. He settled for putting a glass of water on the bedside table for him, then easing down onto the bed next to him, where Vin sat propped against the headboard.

"Gave me another scare, Vin," Chris said, kicking off his boots and stretching his legs out in front of himself, careful not to bump Vin's contraption-bound leg.

"Makin' a habit out of that, ain't I," Vin answered with a soft, wry chuckle.

"Yeah, well, from what I hear about it, you did good on the mission, so I guess you're making a habit of that, too." Chris had been worried as hell, but he was proud of Vin all the same. 

Vin shrugged. "I did what I signed on to do, is all," he said casually, then picked up one of the books Jack had dropped off, a manual on the workings of some of the other guns the SGC teams use.

"Wish you hadn't got yourself broken in the process," Chris muttered, sliding down and shoving his pillow under his head. When he glanced up, Vin was looking down at him with an eyebrow arched high. "What?" Chris asked, feeling a mite defensive.

"I get my leg busted, and you're the one bellyachin? What is it you got to complain about?"

Chris shook his head, fighting off irritation he knew he didn't have a right to feel. Wasn't Vin's fault they wouldn't be doing the usual things they did when Chris had had a scare where Vin was concerned. "For one thing, you aren't gonna be any use to me for more than a month."

Vin put the manual aside and crossed his arms over his waist. "No use to you, huh? Just how is it I usually make myself useful?"

All right, time to be blunt. "How about when I come in here feeling the itch, and I get to turn you over and fuck you through the mattress? That's pretty damn useful."

Vin's upper body shook with laughter. Smug little son of a bitch. "You got a bee in your bonnet 'cause you ain't gonna be able to give me a poke for a spell?"

Chris grinned, he couldn't help himself. "Ain't my fault you're such a damn good poke."

Vin snorted. "That ain't me being useful, Larabee. That's you being spoiled senseless."

"It's useful enough. It's kept me from knocking heads together more times than I can count," Chris replied, thinking that it was true, too. If only Ezra knew how many times a hot tumble with Vin had saved him from an ugly incident involving his cards.

Glancing up at Vin again, though, seeing the warmth in his eyes-- along with the crinkling at the corners that signalled amusement-- Chris admitted to himself that it was so much more than the act of fucking Vin that brought him peace and kept him in a mood suitable for other company. And from the smile pulling at Vin's mouth, Chris knew Vin knew it too.

"You don't reckon there's other ways I can be useful, do ya?" Vin asked, tangling his fingers in Chris' hair and giving an affectionate tug.

Chris followed that pull willingly, and scooted down a little further, butting his head gently against Vin's waist and slipping a hand up under his sweatshirt to run his fingertips over Vin's belly. "Mm, this is a good enough way, I suppose."

Vin sighed softly, caressing Chris' scalp. "Yeah, that's nice," Vin whispered.

Feeling Vin's stomach flutter, Chris grinned and teased the soft trail leading into the waistband of Vin's sweats. "It's about to get nicer," he promised Vin. Watching carefully, Chris nearly salivated at the sight of the growing bulge at the crotch of Vin's sweatpants.

Hooking his fingers into the waistband, Chris tugged the sweats down, while Vin lifted his hips just enough for them to clear his ass, and Vin's erection popped free. Chris glanced up just long enough to lock eyes with Vin, to give him an unspoken promise that he'd make it good, then he ducked his head to lap at the moist tip of Vin's cock.

Sweet and slightly sticky, it made Chris want more. Fluttering his fingers under Vin's balls, he slid his lips around the flared crown, and began to lightly suck. Vin's hips rocked gently under him, and he began to make soft whimpering sounds above him. Chris shivered a little, and sucked Vin further into his mouth. Hard and hot, Vin tasted like life itself, throbbing against Chris' tongue.

"God, Chris!" Vin gasped, tightening his hold in Chris' hair.

Chris sucked harder, bobbing his head as Vin guided him up and down on his cock. All the while, Chris flickered his fingers along Vin's perineum, occasionally reaching low enough to brush over Vin's tight hole. Hips surging upward more erratically, Vin panted harshly, signalling how close he was. Chris rode it out, Vin's frenzy making his own cock throb, too. He kept sucking, letting Vin keep the pace with his grip on his hair, until Vin finally spurted hotly into Chris' mouth. Chris swallowed every bitter drop, not letting up until Vin finally released his hair, Chris sure that Vin had taken a clump with him.

Chris slid back up next to Vin, grinning at the utterly dazed glaze in Vin's eyes as he panted his way to getting his breath back. It wasn't the same as fucking Vin through the mattress, but it was damned good all the same, feeling Vin lose control in that way.

Vin wasn't breathing quite normally yet, but Chris couldn't wait. He turned Vin's face to his, keeping a light hold on Vin's jaw, and kissed him. He plunged his tongue into Vin's mouth, loving the sensation of Vin's heavy breaths puffing into his mouth.

Vin's hand drifted from Chris' chest down to the waist of his pants. Chris drew back just enough to speak against Vin's lips. "You don't have--"

"Shut up." Vin, at his most articulate, Chris thought, thoroughly pleased.

Vin licked Chris' bottom lip, his hand working loose the button on Chris' pants, and then the zipper. Chris didn't even think about arguing anymore. He helped Vin spread the flaps of the pants, trading soft kisses and light flickers of his tongue with Vin as Vin got his hand into Chris' underwear and took his shaft firmly in hand.

Chris shuddered as Vin's fingertips swirled over the head of his cock on his first upward stroke. It was his turn to pant, as Vin's downward stroke spread some of the moisture from the tip. Vin pumped him slow and steady, mouth never more than a breath away from his, still teasing Chris with wet, little kisses and occasionally nipping at his lower lip.

Vin stroked him harder and faster, grip tight, just the way Chris liked it. Chris' breathing hitched as the pressure built in his balls, Vin presing their lips together in a deeper kiss. Release burst out of Chris in a rush, and he came hard, moaning softly around Vin's tongue in his mouth.

He pulled back a little to take in a few gulps of air, resting his forehead against Vin's while the last of the aftershocks rippled through him. Vin let go of his shaft after a moment, and brought his hand to his lips.

Chris shivered as he watched Vin lap at the creamy drizzle of semen on his hand. It made Chris' cock keep tingling, seeing the pink tip of Vin's tongue disappear into his mouth again, with pearly drops of Chris' seed on it. "Damn," Chris whispered.

Vin grinned wickedly. Chris glared at him a second before lunging for Vin's mouth again. He'd never admit it out loud, but Chris loved kissing Vin nearly as much as he loved fucking him. Both were solid reminders that Vin was living and breathing, and not going anywhere.

After long moments spent just basking and sucking lazily on Vin's tongue, Chris finally moved away, stood and stretched. "Well, we got a long night ahead of us. Any ideas what to do?"

Vin snorted. "We just used up most of what I had planned."

Chris chuckled, and wandered to Vin's side of the bed, picking up the manual Vin had had earlier. "This another one of the guns Jack was gonna teach you to use?"

"Yep. He said if I wanted to get hold of a single-shot sniper weapon, I'd like this one."

"Scoot down, a little," Chris said, looking at the cover of the manual. Vin did as he asked and carefully edged down a little, glancing up at Chris, question in his eyes. Chris just smiled at him, gave his shoulder a squeeze, then slid onto the bed behind him, putting his legs on either side of Vin's, then pulled Vin back to rest against his chest. "How's that?"

"Nice," Vin said, settling back with a sigh.

Chris held the manual in his hands, resting it over Vin's chest where they both could see it. "I suppose if you're going to be using this thing when your leg is mended, I ought to know what it is you're getting up to."

Vin laughed softly. "Always got to know what I'm getting up to, don't ya?"

Chris jostled the book, giving Vin a gentle bump on the shoulder. "I let you have plenty of room to roam, Tanner."

"Let me?" Vin said, craning his neck to look at him, twinkle in his eyes.

"That's right, let you. Your ass is mine, Vin. Along with the rest of you."   
Vin laughed louder, snuggling back against him. "Works both ways, Larabee."

Chris grinned, getting the book back in position to read. It was true enough, Chris supposed, the part about them belonging to each other, even if he and Vin never actually crossed the line in getting into each other's business. Mostly it was just something they ribbed each other about when they'd had a close call, warning each other not to damage the other's property.

"Just so you know, next time somebody at this place wants to take you to another damned planet, I'm going with you," Chris said, meaning every word. Even though he'd never get in Vin's business uninvited, letting Vin run off to other planets again without him was out of the question.

"You serious?" Vin said, twisting around again to look him in the eye.

"I am. Why?" Chris asked suspicious.

Vin took a deep breath. "'Cause after what I saw out there, I can't just forget about it and go back to being locked up under this mountain. It's a hell of a nasty fight, Chris. I know they got fancy machines and things we'll never understand, but I can't help it. I want in that fight."

Chris dropped his chin onto Vin's shoulder, thinking about it. He understood the itch Vin felt to get involved, to do something. From all he'd heard about these Goa'uld, they needed to be stopped. After the hell Vin'd been through, and the pain he was still suffering because of those damned things, Chris wanted to personally-- and painfully-- stop them with his bare hands. But like Vin, he wasn't sure what it was he and Vin could actually do. Seemed to him that Vin's usefulness was an unusual thing.

"Don't know that they'd ever really let us in on this war, though. Hell, we're barely let out of this mountain as it is," Chris said after a moment.

"I know," Vin answered quietly. "I guess that's what I'm trying to say, here. If I ain't any use in this fight, and if we're gonna be prisoners here, I want them to keep looking for a planet. It'll kill me after too long, Chris, being locked up here."

Chris swallowed over a thick lump in his throat. "I know, Vin. One way or another, we'll get out of here. Let's just get that leg of yours healed, and we'll think of something."

Vin nodded and settled against him again. Chris figured learning about these weapons was as good a distraction for Vin as any. He opened the book to the page that showed the gun broken down into various parts, and started reading aloud.

Chin still resting on Vin's shoulder, where he could look down and see the pages, Chris read just slowly enough that Vin might catch some of the words he'd have the most trouble with if he was reading it himself. Mary had taught Vin a lot and gave him a damn good start, but books like this one were filled with more complex words than Vin had ever had to decipher before.

"Modified from the RAI 500 model, the 500M is also chambered for the caliber .50 Browning cartridge." Vin's body rippled with suppressed laughter. Chris paused in his reading, grinned, and turned his face to plant a quick kiss on Vin's neck. "What's so funny?"

"You sure do know sweet talk and romance, don't ya," Vin answered, amused. He stretched one arm backward to run his fingers through Chris' hair.

A truly evil thought flashed in Chris' mind. "I can bring you flowers next time, if you'd prefer? Jack's already told me if I need anything just ask."

Vin twisted his upper body, his expression horrified. "You come marching in here with flowers, you know exactly where they're gonna end up-- and it ain't in a vase with water. You hear me, Larabee?"

Chris laughed, picturing the look on Vin's face if he walked in their quarters one day with a batch of daisies. Might be worth Vin trying to do something unholy with 'em. For the time being, he decided not torture Vin, seeing that he was still laid up. Didn't feel like a fair fight, somehow. "All right, don't work yourself into a lather, no flowers."

Vin glared at him, hard, for a long moment before finally easing back, squirming against Chris to get into just the right spot again. "Let's get back to it then. I want to be able to fire this little thing my first time out, soon as I get this contraption off my leg."

Chris gave him a light squeeze and one more kiss to his neck, then complied. If sucking him and reading gun books to him was all it took to make Vin happy these days, Chris would do it gladly. Vin's restlessness and the need to be out in the world making a difference would make itself known again before long at all.

The more Chris thought about it, and the longer Vin paid rapt attention to the gun manual, he realized that Vin wasn't the only one who'd be feeling that restlessness soon. It wasn't just the fact that Vin had joined O'Neill on that mission without him that had been hard. It was also knowing that something important was happening all that time, something in which the outcome would affect so many damned lives Chris could hardly wrap his mind around it. And all the while, Chris had been helpless and powerless to do anything to contribute to that battle.

Chris had never hesitated to take up arms when someone wasn't able to take up for themselves. But this time, the ones needing the help included himself and everyone on that base. Chris' own fate, and the fate of his men, all really hung in the balance of this war. Times like this, comfortable and curled up contentedly with Vin, it was easy to forget that, but it was true all the same. Chris was never one to sit back and let others fight his battles for him, so why would this be any different?

Turning the page of the manual, Chris concentrated harder on trying to absorb the mechanics and best use of the weapon. When Vin got himself mended and the urgent need to act really kicked in, Chris would be right there with him, feeling it, too. The time for sitting back and reading about this new world they lived in was over. It was time to start living in this world, and to start doing something to make sure it survived. Chris could only hope these SGC people would let them do their part.

 

******

The gym just sucked. No two ways about it. Jack would rather eat grass or listen to Carter prattle on about quantum physics than sit on a bench with weights and then run on a treadmill. There had to be better ways to recuperate from that damn virus than this. But apparently, going to the target ranges and fishing didn't qualify as physical therapy, so there he was, on the bench again for the second day in a row since being released from the infirmary a week earlier.

His only consolation was that Vin was right there with him, and just as miserable. Okay, maybe even more so. At least all four of Jack's limbs were functioning. Vin though, he had to go through a series of workouts on his upper body and good leg, plus whatever they could rig to get him a cardio workout, to keep his body fit while the busted leg healed.

As with the day before, they'd come down together, both griping the whole way, as Jack thought was fitting. Today, though, Vin seemed preoccupied now that they were there. He'd cast a few odd glances already at some of the other SGC personnel working out on other equipment, speculative expressions that Jack couldn't figure out.

"Something up?" Jack asked, keeping up the curls.

"Hmm?" Vin asked, obviously having been brought out of fairly deep thought.

"What's up?"

Vin shook his head, then put down his own set of weights. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Jack said, shrugging.

"What's a faggot?"

He nearly dropped his dumbbell. "What?"

"Faggot," Vin repeated, voice level, with very little attempt to hush the word. Obviously, he honestly had no clue what it meant, so he had to have heard it somewhere. Wasn't TV, because Vin rarely watched it. That narrowed the possibilities to those that Jack definitely didn't like.

"Where did you hear that?" Jack asked, keeping his tone even. He hoped.

"Does it change what the word stands for depending on where I heard it?" Vin asked, eyebrow quirked.

"When did this come up?" 

Vin glared at him. "Why ain't you told me yet what it means?"

Jack let out an exasperated sigh. No way out of this, and Jack really had to find out why Vin was asking. "It's a slang term, and not a very nice one. It's a term that's generally used when the person saying it wants someone to be offended."

Vin didn't look convinced. "Well, I kinda gathered that much. But I reckon I'd still like to know what it means.

Jack took a deep breath. "It's an insulting word used for a man who has... relationships... with other men."

Surprisingly, Vin just nodded, but Jack could tell that Vin grasped the full meaning behind his use of the word relationships. "Hell, I suppose I been called worse." Vin picked up another set of weights then, and went back at it, seeming satisfied to leave it at that. 

Jack hated it. Really hated it, but he couldn't let it go just yet. "Vin, I need to know who used that word with you."

Vin rolled his eyes at him, and kept working out. "Weren't no big thing. Couple of your soldiers have called me that when I passed 'em in the halls, is all."

Jack shook his head. "Vin, I can't allow them to harass you. I can't allow that kind of thing to go on, here."

"Hell, Colonel. I done walked away from a lot worse than that in my day, and my honor survived just fine."

Jack grinned. "I suppose it has."

Vin grinned back at him. "I reckon me not knowing what it meant kinda took the power out of that word for those fellers, too."

Jack chuckled. "I guess it did. But now that you know?"

Vin shrugged, and switched from bicep curls to overhead presses. "I got no reason to be shamed by that word, so it still don't have no power."

Jack nodded absently, but had to process Vin's words. Or not. Hell, he didn't want to think about whether that was a denial or an admission. If he thought about it for too long, he'd figure it out, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. He couldn't ignore the possibility that the slurs could escalate and the trouble that escalation could cause. He just didn't want to have to think about how much the men saying it really knew.

Then again, he also had to consider what would happen if one of the men got up the nerve to say something like that to Larabee. Damn, but this shit got complicated. And if it happened with Larabee, it could get ugly. Why the hell couldn't those knuckleheads just keep their mouths shut?

"Colonel?"

Jack whipped his head up and saw a pair of amused eyes watching him. "Hmm?"

Vin put the weights down again. "There's a lot more important things out there to squabble about. I'd just as soon pick battles that have a bit higher stakes. After what we saw on that planet, it don't make sense to go to war on account of somebody's mouth not staying shut when it should."

Jack ducked his head for a moment, feeling another swell of fondness for Vin. He was rough around the edges and about as bull-headed as Daniel at times, but he had some damned impressive values. He lifted his head again and looked Vin in the eyes. "I agree. And in case I haven't said it enough, I'll say it again. I'd have you on my side in one of those battles any time."

Vin nodded, a grin pulling on his mouth. The idea obviously appealed to him. "You mean that?"

"I do," Jack said without hesitation.

"Then count me in," Vin replied casually, reaching down for the ankle weights to put on his good leg.

"Count you in?"

Vin looked up as he attached the weight. "You gettin' hard of hearing?" he teased.

Jack gave him a grimace. "Funny, kid. But I'm serious. What do you mean, count you in?"

Vin sighed. "I mean, if you got something I can do to help in this fight, I wanna do it. I can't spend the rest of my life underground in this mountain. Figure you knew that already. But I especially don't wanna live this way knowing I could be doing something useful out there."

Suddenly, Jack felt as if the whole room was wrought with tension, even though he knew nobody else could hear this conversation. The idea had vaguely crossed his mind that it would be interesting if something else came up that could benefit from Vin's expertise.

"I can't deny it, Vin. You'd probably come in handy in a few different ways out there. It's just that there are a lot of things to consider. This situation was unique," Jack said carefully. He didn't want to make promises that he sure as hell couldn't keep, but he didn't want to lie to Vin, either.

"Seems to me this whole war with the Goa'uld is unique. Never know what them bastards are gonna do next, right?"

Jack couldn't deny that either. "True enough."

"To hear the others talk, I'm pretty sure we can count them in, too," Vin added, dutifully doing a few leg lifts, though he was every bit as focused on this conversation as Jack was.

"Easy now, bruiser. One cowboy at a time, okay?" Jack said, shaking his head. If Vin had his way, the whole group of them would be out there terrorizing the Goa'uld.

Vin gave him a smirk, and kept up his leg lifts.

Dammit, but Jack couldn't dismiss the idea. He'd also heard the other guys talk enough to know they'd definitely be interested in helping out if they could. Hell, Wilmington was ready to load his pistol and go get 'em the first night Jack told them about the Goa'uld. But realistically, was there really something this group of men could do out there, in the field anywhere?

It'd be a dangerous life, no doubt. Much more so than living on the base. Which, as Vin pointed out, wasn't exactly living. What was fair, and what was plausible, all mixed together in Jack's head, until he couldn't think straight. But he'd have to at some point soon, because he could feel it, like an itch under his skin, that this might be the best solution for what to do with the men overall. If they could make use of them against the Goa'uld, in even a small way offworld somewhere, then it would get them off the base now and then and they'd actually be fighting bad guys-- something they'd done most of their lives anyway.

"No promises, Vin. But I'll talk to the General about it," Jack found himself saying before he could order his mouth to keep quiet.

Vin gave him a short nod, but the intense expression in his eyes said a lot. Vin wanted this, and would be grateful if Jack could make it happen. Jack was definitely not in the mood to consider how Vin would be if Jack couldn't make it happen.

"Oh, and Vin?" Jack added, suddenly brought back to how the conversation started. "As far as the uh, word you asked about..."

Vin's grin was sly, and it gave Jack a shiver of apprehension. "I suppose I shouldn't repeat that, right?"

"Well, I was just wondering. You haven't heard that word used when Chris was around, have you?"

Vin snorted. "Nope. I reckon what Chris don't know, won't hurt him. For now. I ain't gonna lie to him if he gets wind of it, though."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Jack replied quickly. "But I just get the impression that Chris isn't exactly a 'turn the other cheek' kind of guy?"

Vin's grin widened. Jack wasn't at all relieved. "Chris don't give a damn what people call him any more than I do, but he has a real hard time walking away when a man throws a challenge at his feet. It's just his nature. But I figure most of those fellers using that word know better than to throw down a challenge to someone who's likely to take it. I figure that's in their nature, too."

Jack bobbed his head a little, side to side, as he thought it over. Made sense that the guys throwing out that word would get it out of their system with Vin, as deceptively harmless as he appeared. They'd have to be devoid of all human instinct to not be able to sense the Alpha in Chris, though, and so on at least some level, they must know they'd be asking for more trouble than they truly wanted if they took him on.

It was a minor comfort, and Jack knew he'd have to deal with it more fully at some point. But for now, he supposed he could be reasonably confident that the men who mostly cleared a path for Larabee would be smart enough to keep doing so.

*****

 

Jack placed the final of the seven folders in front of Josiah Sanchez and took a spot in the back of the briefing room, leaning against the wall next to Daniel. He nodded to Hammond and settled back to listen. He'd done all he could. Nearly three months after finding seven time-traveling cowboys, they finally had a plan what to do with them.

"Thank you all for attending this meeting," Hammond said as he stood in front of the group. "I'm sure you're all curious why we asked you here."

Nods from most of them and Jack watched Larabee in particular. He sat straight and still in his chair at the head of the table, with Wilmington and Tanner on either side of him.

"As you know, we've been looking for a planet for you to settle on. One that has a lifestyle you are more accustomed to."

Standish interrupted General Hammond, "Not all of us desire to relocate. Most of us wish to rejoin our own society... while we are still young."

"Hold on a minute, son," Hammond said, hand in the air. "As I was saying, we were searching for an appropriate planet. One where you would feel comfortable and would fit into society. We haven't been successful. Colonel O'Neill managed to find something wrong with every planet Dr. Jackson suggested."

All eyes turned to Jack and Daniel and Jack shrugged. None of the planets were right. Or maybe he wasn't exactly 100% behind the idea of resettlement right from the beginning. That's what Daniel accused him of anyway. 

"We have a proposition for you," Hammond went on as soon as the attention was back on him. I'll let Colonel O'Neill explain it to you."

Jack cleared his throat and stood up straight before speaking. "Not everyone who works here is military. Daniel for example, is a civilian contractor. Of course, we could reactivate Chris and Buck, since you were both in the army. But I don't think the Pentagon would go for it." Jack couldn't help but notice the confused look on all the faces staring at him... including Daniel and the General. "Right," he said, opening his own folder. "We want to hire you."

"Hire us?" Larabee asked, before Jack could make his proposal.

"Hire you," Daniel said, "as civilian contractors."

"And what, pray tell, would we be doing," asked Standish, his tone and expression conveying his disbelief.

"Would we get to go to new planets and meet aliens and maybe fly in a spaceship and...," Dunne asked, practically bouncing in his chair with excitement.

"Hold on, Sparky, not exactly."

"What, exactly, would we be doing?" Larabee asked.

"You'd be a security team. You wouldn't be doing first contact missions or be involved in negotiations, but you would go on off-world missions and you would see some action."

"And if we say no?" Standish asked.

"Well... then you're pretty much stuck here until we decide you aren't a security risk to this program," Hammond answered for Jack. "Top secret means you can't sell your story and it means you can't go on Oprah and expose the Stargate program." Hammond gave Standish a pointed look before continuing, "Until we're positive you aren't a security risk or a menace to modern society, then you will be our guests."

"Prisoners is more like it," Buck mumbled. 

"You aren't exactly prisoners," Daniel started to argue, but Jack held up his hand. 

"Yup, prisoners," Jack said, nodding. Daniel was about to go into his lecture mode where he'd give the seven men the same arguments he'd been giving Jack. But Jack figured the seven of them wouldn't take too kindly to Daniel explaining to them why *they* had to be protected. Better to let them think prisoners than that the people at the SGC were trying to protect them because they didn't think the seven men could fend for themselves. 

He hadn't bought Daniel's argument that the men even needed their protection, hell, he'd been all for giving them ID's, history, some cash and letting them do their own thing. He'd spent enough time with them to know they were intelligent, capable people. They let Martin out into the world for Pete's sake... and that guy was lucky not to get lost on the way to his own house.

But Daniel put a picture in Jack's head that wouldn't go away and that had pretty much done it for him. Daniel told him, over pizza *without* peppers, to imagine them living in modern American suburbia. Told him to imagine them working a job, any job. 

Jack tried to picture it, he really did. But no matter what scenarios he came up with, every single one of them ended badly. For everyone involved. 

But he didn't think sending them to another planet was the best idea either. It just seemed wrong to him and he couldn't decide why. Maybe he just didn't want them to go. When Vin told him to, "Count me in," the little wheels in Jack's head just started rolling. 

He wanted to slap himself silly for not having seriously considered the men being an asset to the Stargate program... hell-ooo, battle tested, already trained men who had nothing else to do? Perfect recruits. If he could get the general to agree. That part went surprisingly easily, considering all the information they had on the men's past. They weren't exactly rule followers... any of them. Submitting to the will of the military might not be something they could do. But it was worth a shot.

"The folders in front of you contain documents detailing your new pasts. You'll want to be sure to read them and learn them over the next few days," Jack said after a few minutes of everyone looking at each other.

"There are a few things you'll need to agree to before the offer is finalized," Hammond said, taking the floor from Jack.

"Such as?" Standish drawled. 

It surprised Jack that Standish took the lead in the negotiations. He'd expected Chris to be the one full of questions and doubts. Seeing the display of teamwork convinced him they were doing the right thing.

"Such as," Hammond said, "chain of command, training, testing, and compensation."

Standish's eyebrows went up at that. "Compensation?"

"Let's get the other details out of the way, first," Jack interrupted before compensation could be discussed. "If you don't like the terms, then there's no need to discuss salaries."

Chris leaned forward in his chair at the same time Wilmington and Tanner leaned backward. "Go on," he said, "we're listening."

"There's a chain of command around here. There has to be and not just for the fact this is a military operation. You'd be part of it. No Lone Ranger bullshit."

"Buck," JD whispered, "who's the Lone Ranger?"

"Nevermind," Jack said. He hated that all of his cultural references were completely lost on these guys. 

"What's the set-up?" Larabee asked.

"Your team will be under the command of whoever is in charge of the operation you're assigned to. You report to him or her. When you're on the base, you report to General Hammond or me."

"So we won't have any yahoo with a stripe trying to order us around?" Buck asked.

Like any of you would listen if they did, Jack almost said aloud. "No, the only one ordering the six of you around is Larabee. And the only one ordering him around is the person in command of whatever operation you're deployed on."

Tanner snorted and Jack looked his way only to find him looking half-asleep. 

"Something to say, Vin?" Jack asked.

"Nope. I figure Chris already thinks he's in charge, why not make it all official like."

"You want to be in charge, Vin?" Larabee asked, evil little smile firmly in place.

"Hell no," Tanner snorted. "You sure you want to be?"

"No." Larabee said, shaking his head. "But I'm willing to hear more." 

"Good," Jack said. "Before you're assigned any missions, you'll have to be trained on modern weapons, our procedures and tactics and you'll have to pass some tests. Figure you can live with that?"

A couple of nods, from Sanchez and Nathan, and Jack figured he'd take what he could get.

"I do believe we were about to discuss compensation," Standish said and Jack nodded to him.

"We can start you off at fifty-thousand a year each for the six of you, and Larabee at sixty-thousand."

"Dollars?" Dunne squeaked.

"A year?" Standish asked. At Jack's nod, his eyebrow went even higher. "Cash?"

Jack nodded again. "As for your training, it will start immediately. Vin, since you're out of commission for at least two more months, you'll be assigned a tutor to help you improve your reading and writing. You've got a lead on everyone else in the weapons department and I've seen you in action. Once you're back on two feet, you'll catch up quick."

Tanner ducked his head and Jack wondered why Tanner was so embarrassed. Maybe he should have brought that part up privately. As far as Jack was concerned, he had no reason to be embarrassed. It's not like people are born knowing how to read and write. Hell, he'd stuck his foot in it again, he was sure.

"Some of them tests you mentioned are book learning?" Wilmington asked and Jack nodded to him.

"Hell, I might need some help in that department myself," Buck said, drawing attention away from Tanner and onto himself.

"Any of you who need help will get it," Daniel said. "Don't worry about it for now."

"I'll help you, Buck," JD said, all earnest good intention. "Chris will too, right Chris?"

"I don't know, JD, I guess that would depend on how pretty the tutor is," Chris said, smiling at Buck.

It sure sounded like these guys were willing to go along, Jack noted. Perfect. And if they survived a couple of years, he was sure they would be ready to move on to something else, if they wanted. But Jack knew deep down, call it a gut instinct, that these men would want to sign on for the long haul once they knew what was really going on out there. 

"So you're willing to join us?" Hammond asked, looking straight at JD.

Dunne looked around before answering. "I'm in if everyone else is."

Before anyone could ask him, Standish drawled, "Where do I sign?"

Jack was sure those were dollar signs dancing in Ezra's eyes. Or maybe it was just a trick of the lights. He shook his head and paid attention as Hammond went to the next man.

Sanchez stared the general in the eye before saying, "A man could stay busy in a place like this."

Sanchez looked to Jackson on his right, eyebrow raised.

"I figure if you all are going to get shot, I should stick around." Jackson smiled at Sanchez, sharing a private joke. 

Hell, they were all grinning at each other now and Jack couldn't for the life of him figure out what the joke was.

The six men looked at Buck next, deciding the order on their own. "A few women I'm not acquainted with," Wilmington said, smiling big.

"Vin?" Jack asked.

"I got a few things I'll have to take care of first... like book learning and healing up this bum leg, but I reckon I'll keep."

"Chris?" Hammond asked.

Larabee's smile was widest of all. He took his time answering, looking at each of the other six men before saying, "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this."

*****

The End


End file.
